Restaurant Receptions

[xAshleyx]

Hey Guys,
So we were thinking about having a dinner reception at one of the restaurants. We will be leaning towards S&D or an escape package so im not worried about minimums and things like that.

However, if we have a dinner afterward- can i wear my dress to dinner? Do i still have to book my reservation thru DFTW or do i just call regular dining-- we will have about 35-45 people. And if we book thru regular dining will they make us meet some type of minimum because it is a wedding.

We were also looking into maybe having our celebration dinner at the Spirit of Aloha since we are having a beach themed wedding. Any thoughts on this ?
or other suggestions? We can pay about $60 a person for a two hour unlimited dinner including wine and beer, so much cheaper than a la carte at a restaurant, and the dinner show will be alot of fun.

 

[DisneyEverAfter]

We're an escape couple & we're having dinner at Fulton's Crabhouse after our wedding! We booked through Disney Dining, but your planner can help with ideas too. We then contacted the manager at Fulton's after we reserved our group to see if we can be placed on the edge of walking traffic if possible and he said it'd be no problem at all and he was very helpful. We also thought about doing Spirit of Aloha for our dinner, but decided on something more low key. Now you have many more people than we do (we only have 9 people total!) so I don't know if doing Spirit of Aloha would be easier (& cheaper if you think about it!) for you guys because huge group dining I hear is a hit-or-miss... I'd go with Spirit of Aloha! But I don't think Disney Dining will make you have a minimum just because you're a wedding unless you're going through DFTW! Good luck in whatever you decide~

 

[xAshleyx]

fultons was an option too, i love downtown disney
how does it work when you do a restaurant reception? i just recently considered this option as i always wanted a traditional reception with dancing -would i have to call for like a set menu to offer my guests, or do i just let them order off the menu for food and drinks?
i know some people use the Swan Restaurants too, so any imput would be appriciated. did anyone have a first dance at their restaurant reception ?

 

[lurkyloo]

However, if we have a dinner afterward- can i wear my dress to dinner?

Yes. The only place you can't wear a wedding dress is inside the parks.

Do i still have to book my reservation thru DFTW or do i just call regular dining-- we will have about 35-45 people.

Some Escape planners will make regular Disney dining reservations for their couples, but you can also do it yourself. For a group that large, however, you need to call Disney's group dining hotline: 407-939-7700. Just to warn you, they will tell you they can't guarantee your party will be seated together, but the servers usually make every effort to do this.

And if we book thru regular dining will they make us meet some type of minimum because it is a wedding.

No, the only thing you might run into is certain restaurants require large parties to order off a set menu. However others will just let everyone order off the regular menu. You can talk to the restaurant manager to find out (Spirit of Aloha being different because it already has a set menu).

did anyone have a first dance at their restaurant reception ?

If you make a reservation during the restaurant's normal hours, you can't do dancing unless the restaurant has a private room for you. Even then, most of these are very small. If you choose Disney's Escape package, there will be time for first dances after the ceremony, during the cake-cutting.

 

[DisneyEverAfter]

fultons was an option too, i love downtown disney
how does it work when you do a restaurant reception? i just recently considered this option as i always wanted a traditional reception with dancing -would i have to call for like a set menu to offer my guests, or do i just let them order off the menu for food and drinks?
i know some people use the Swan Restaurants too, so any imput would be appriciated. did anyone have a first dance at their restaurant reception ?

For us we're such a small party & very lax I guess you can say about what we wanted to do for dinner and we are not dancers so we didn't particularly want a dance portion (hey, we only have 7 guests!) But the escape package offers the cake & champagne celebration in which we will be doing our first dance there at SBP I have heard from other PJs and TRs that no music is allowed in certain restaurants (not 100% sure on that one), but if you get a private room I suppose a first dance could be done there (iPod maybe?) if the room was big enough! HTH