Roughly 25 guests (27 total).......is there anything we can work out

[dkrauss]

Hi.....just got the ok from my sweetie to start looking into a WDW wedding for 2016. Yes I realize that's a long way away........but you just can't plan to early....can you?

We only have 25 guests (not including ourselves) and I'm wondering if WDW shows any flexibility with the Escape option? I realize that at our number of guests we apparently don't qualify for the Escape but for only 7 additional guest the cost goes up roughly 250%!

Do we have any options here..........not trying to cheap out.......when you think of Disney you know that won't happen But given it won't be a large group I'm looking to save over the Wishes package.

Any thoughts?

 

[lurkyloo]

Disney is no longer flexible on the guest count for Escape, unfortunately. In the past, the price difference wasn't that great between Wishes and an Escape with all the trimmings (like if you added a dessert party and/or a catered reception). But now you're looking at a minimum of $12,375 plus tax and service charge for a Wishes event with your group size.

You might look into a Swan & Dolphin wedding, which starts at just over $2,000 for a ceremony site, wedding planning, seating and the use of a hospitality suite. You can add things from there or go with one of Just Marry's packages instead, starting at $2,810. Those include floral, an officiant and photography. Then you could just make a large-party reservation at a restaurant for a meal or add a catered reception or dessert party through Disney Catered Events. The only drawback is not being able to wear a wedding gown if your event is held inside a park. I just interviewed a bride who did this and even included a ride mix-in at Epcot: http://disneyweddingpodcast.com/2014/01/22/swan-dolphin-wedding-spotlight-jess-dave/

 

[dkrauss]

Disney is no longer flexible on the guest count for Escape, unfortunately. In the past, the price difference wasn't that great between Wishes and an Escape with all the trimmings (like if you added a dessert party and/or a catered reception). But now you're looking at a minimum of $12,375 plus tax and service charge for a Wishes event with your group size.

Thanks for the info

 

[Dvcmbr09]

I been wondering if you could have ceremony at swan then reception through disney catered events, but I thought I read somewhere that if disney catered events figured out you having a wedding reception then they make you go through Disney fairytale weddings. I figured this meant disney fairytale weddings makes you pay for wishes wedding mins. for reception if disney catered events saw you wanted to wear your wedding gown, have a cake cutting, first dance, etc. I was thinking having ceremony at swan then reception at the attic at boardwalk (but if I am going to have to pay for wishes min pricing then I will just go with ceremony at sea breeze point) also want a dessert party at uk lockside

 

[dkrauss]

I been wondering if you could have ceremony at swan then reception through disney catered events, but I thought I read somewhere that if disney catered events figured out you having a wedding reception then they make you go through Disney fairytale weddings. I figured this meant disney fairytale weddings makes you pay for wishes wedding mins. for reception if disney catered events saw you wanted to wear your wedding gown, have a cake cutting, first dance, etc. I was thinking having ceremony at swan then reception at the attic at boardwalk (but if I am going to have to pay for wishes min pricing then I will just go with ceremony at sea breeze point) also want a dessert party at uk lockside

Excellent question.............I must say I'm bummed to hear that WDW is not flexible with their packages. However, the Swan & Dolphin is an option. Your question above is interesting to that point. For my fiancé and I there's time to ask questions and get info because we're not looking to do this until 2016. However its important for us to get an idea what this will cost so we can save appropriately.

Doug

 

[dkrauss]

You might look into a Swan & Dolphin wedding, which starts at just over $2,000 for a ceremony site, wedding planning, seating and the use of a hospitality suite. You can add things from there or go with one of Just Marry's packages instead, starting at $2,810. Those include floral, an officiant and photography. Then you could just make a large-party reservation at a restaurant for a meal or add a catered reception or dessert party through Disney Catered Events. The only drawback is not being able to wear a wedding gown if your event is held inside a park. I just interviewed a bride who did this and even included a ride mix-in at Epcot: http://disneyweddingpodcast.com/2014/01/22/swan-dolphin-wedding-spotlight-jess-dave/

Just took a look at the blog post mention above.........saw the couple had a picture with Mickey & Minnie! So characters are possible at the S&W? We're Goofy fans would he be possible?

Doug

 

[Chilly]

Just took a look at the blog post mention above.........saw the couple had a picture with Mickey & Minnie! So characters are possible at the S&W? We're Goofy fans would he be possible?

Doug

Yes you could get Goofy at a S&D wedding.

 

[dkrauss]

Yes you could get Goofy at a S&D wedding.

Cool!!!!!!!! Beach Clubs loss is the Swan & Dolphin's gain...........possibilities abound now............

Doug

 

[lurkyloo]

I been wondering if you could have ceremony at swan then reception through disney catered events, but I thought I read somewhere that if disney catered events figured out you having a wedding reception then they make you go through Disney fairytale weddings. I figured this meant disney fairytale weddings makes you pay for wishes wedding mins. for reception if disney catered events saw you wanted to wear your wedding gown, have a cake cutting, first dance, etc.

This is correct. You can certainly do just a reception-only event with Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings, but you have to meet all the same food and beverage minimums. The only savings would be if you can get a ceremony site elsewhere for less than the $3,500—$4,000 DFTW now charges.

 

[aristocatz]

I just wanted to add that you can add on a formal reception at the Swan or Dolphin as well-in a reception room or a beautiful ballroom. We had our ceremony at Crescent Terrace (near the DFTW site on the Boardwalk), a cocktail hour at the Swan Courtyard, and a plated lunch reception in one of the reception rooms, with a DJ, dance floor, etc... We had Mickey & Minnie visit the reception through Disney Event Planning.

Swan catering is amazing! Our cake, hors d'oeuvres, and lunch were really top notch.

Our officiant, harpist, photographer, & DJ were all people who also do DFTW. Our floral was through an outside vendor and their work was incredible. We had a dessert party through Disney Catered Events as well.

We also had a welcome dinner and a dinner for the bridal party at Disney restaurants.

You can do a TON with Swan Weddings and they are really flexible to accommodate all guest counts and all budgets. & Just as Carrie stated, you can get a ton of the same perks as DFTW brides.

 

[dkrauss]

You can do a TON with Swan Weddings and they are really flexible to accommodate all guest counts and all budgets. & Just as Carrie stated, you can get a ton of the same perks as DFTW brides.

Great info..........thanks so much. All we want are options and it seems like there are more options with the S&D. Wonder how many weddings Disney proper loses to them? Probably not enough to make even a small dent..

Doug

 

[Chilly]

Great info..........thanks so much. All we want are options and it seems like there are more options with the S&D. Wonder how many weddings Disney proper loses to them? Probably not enough to make even a small dent..

Doug

In the grand scheme of things the wedding department probably makes the least money of all Disney's business, it even comes below conferences.

 

[TiffinyKaye]

The question is...wouldn't the wedding dept. be more lucrative if they were more affordable or at least more flexible? I would think so.

My fiance and I were SUPER lucky to get in under the old pricing structure for 2013/2014 before the essentially pulled the rug out from everyone and changed their structure. I was SOOOO angry with them, and SOOO ready to plunk down money on an S&D wedding. The only thing that stopped me was that they'd let us use the old pricing structure.

When all was said and done and the contract was signed, Disney sent me one of those, "Give us your suggestions!" things. I couldn't say enough good things about my coordinator--but the pricing structure changes drove me up the wall. I was very honest with them that we would have pulled out under the new pricing structure, had we been forced into it. I even let them know about how many brides I've seen on this board back out as a result. There's a line between what I consider "Disney reasonable" (a very subjective term), and exorbitant. The new structure crosses the line into exorbitant--and I hope they see a huge drop in profits as a result.

Also very honest with them that it if weren't for the MK session--we'd be doing S&D or just having the wedding in Utah and do Disney for the honeymoon. They are really, really just getting insane.

Tifffiny

 

[andeesings]

The question is...wouldn't the wedding dept. be more lucrative if they were more affordable or at least more flexible? I would think so. My fiance and I were SUPER lucky to get in under the old pricing structure for 2013/2014 before the essentially pulled the rug out from everyone and changed their structure. I was SOOOO angry with them, and SOOO ready to plunk down money on an S&D wedding. The only thing that stopped me was that they'd let us use the old pricing structure. When all was said and done and the contract was signed, Disney sent me one of those, "Give us your suggestions!" things. I couldn't say enough good things about my coordinator--but the pricing structure changes drove me up the wall. I was very honest with them that we would have pulled out under the new pricing structure, had we been forced into it. I even let them know about how many brides I've seen on this board back out as a result. There's a line between what I consider "Disney reasonable" (a very subjective term), and exorbitant. The new structure crosses the line into exorbitant--and I hope they see a huge drop in profits as a result. Also very honest with them that it if weren't for the MK session--we'd be doing S&D or just having the wedding in Utah and do Disney for the honeymoon. They are really, really just getting insane. Tifffiny

To be honest I highly doubt it would be more lucrative. Think about all the people that need to be employed to do one wedding. The smaller, 15k budget weddings I would imagine weren't making nearly enough money. Changing the pricing structure from what it was to what it currently puts the pricing on par with major metropolitan areas. Plus you're paying for service- and they try to make their service exceptional. As it is now I'm sure they're hosting at the very least one wedding per day. And as it's Disney, I don't necessarily believe there will be a dropoff. But you might see an increase of Escape vs. wishes.

 

[dkrauss]

The question is...wouldn't the wedding dept. be more lucrative if they were more affordable or at least more flexible? I would think so.

My fiance and I were SUPER lucky to get in under the old pricing structure for 2013/2014 before the essentially pulled the rug out from everyone and changed their structure. I was SOOOO angry with them, and SOOO ready to plunk down money on an S&D wedding. The only thing that stopped me was that they'd let us use the old pricing structure.

When all was said and done and the contract was signed, Disney sent me one of those, "Give us your suggestions!" things. I couldn't say enough good things about my coordinator--but the pricing structure changes drove me up the wall. I was very honest with them that we would have pulled out under the new pricing structure, had we been forced into it. I even let them know about how many brides I've seen on this board back out as a result. There's a line between what I consider "Disney reasonable" (a very subjective term), and exorbitant. The new structure crosses the line into exorbitant--and I hope they see a huge drop in profits as a result.

Also very honest with them that it if weren't for the MK session--we'd be doing S&D or just having the wedding in Utah and do Disney for the honeymoon. They are really, really just getting insane.

Tifffiny

Glad that it worked out for you...........I do agree the current structure is rough. Its the initial sticker shock that gets you! The base price jumps roughly 275% from 20 guests to 21 guests........really 275%? (I'm roughing this out so my numbers aren't exact).

For our plan we're looking at about 28 guests........which would be about a 40% increase above the 20 limit on the Escape package. If you raise the base $3000 (which is more than 40%) Your telling me they wouldn't get more weddings. I'm not in the business but I'm not getting how 8 more people add to anything but the cost of food and drink.........and with 8 more people that means extra rooms to sell..........tickets to sell............souvenirs to buy.......But maybe they don't want more weddings...............

Doug

 

[holula]

But the Escape wedding doesn't include food at the reception other than cake. It doesn't include anything you may add on. If you have a more traditional reception and some add one, the prices become closer to a Wishes wedding (at least under the old structure).

The new pricing structure meant we couldn't afford Wishes anymore and did a DCL wedding instead. They are clearly getting enough business to warrant the increased prices.

 

[mb187143]

Disney isn't looking to be flexible or more lucrative. They don't really need to be. They have the customers that they want, the ones willing to pay a premium for the Disney locations, like the wedding pavilion, the MK shoot, etc. we had a wedding with 60 guests and had a coordinator, her assistant, a consultant, and a room block coordinator working with us throughout the year we planned it. On the day of our wedding, we had our planner, three assistants, an entertainment coordinator, and the catering manager working with us on our event. That's a lot of hands to make an event go off for only 60 people. And in our case, it was flawless. Absolutely flawless. I have no regrets paying the price we did. Was it higher than what we might have paid at home? Sure. But it was worth it to me. It may not be to everyone. That's perfectly ok. But I wouldn't go looking for Disney to bend any policies toward the way the Swan and Dolphin work. The Swan and Dolphin are competing with other event venues in the area, where in some ways Disney is not. So it's kind of apples and oranges.

There seems to be a subset of folks who have weddings in the 15-30 guest range, who feel the swan and dolphin meet their needs better. And the truth is they might. It's your right as a consumer to put your money where you feel you're getting the bet value, based on whatever factors you choose.

 

[dkrauss]

Disney isn't looking to be flexible or more lucrative. They don't really need to be. They have the customers that they want, the ones willing to pay a premium for the Disney locations, like the wedding pavilion, the MK shoot, etc. we had a wedding with 60 guests and had a coordinator, her assistant, a consultant, and a room block coordinator working with us throughout the year we planned it. On the day of our wedding, we had our planner, three assistants, an entertainment coordinator, and the catering manager working with us on our event. That's a lot of hands to make an event go off for only 60 people. And in our case, it was flawless. Absolutely flawless. I have no regrets paying the price we did. Was it higher than what we might have paid at home? Sure. But it was worth it to me. It may not be to everyone. That's perfectly ok. But I wouldn't go looking for Disney to bend any policies toward the way the Swan and Dolphin work. The Swan and Dolphin are competing with other event venues in the area, where in some ways Disney is not. So it's kind of apples and oranges.

There seems to be a subset of folks who have weddings in the 15-30 guest range, who feel the swan and dolphin meet their needs better. And the truth is they might. It's your right as a consumer to put your money where you feel you're getting the bet value, based on whatever factors you choose.

All excellent points!!