Wishes vs. Escape

[Mausk]

My Fiance and I are trying to figure out which package we should go with, was wondering if anyone has experience with either of these.

Our issue with the Wishes is one is making sure 18 people will make the journey from the Midwest in April (during the school year for my cousins) to ensure the minimum guest count.
And the issue with Escape is that we would still do a "big meal" after the wedding which in Disney dollars, could make up for the $5,000 extra in the other package.

My mother is pushing the Wishes package, should we just go with that, is it really any better for making our wedding "our own?"

Thanks!

 

[jessa07]

Welcome to the DIS! I just had an Escape wedding a week ago today. We added a full catered lunch reception at The Attic at Boardwalk AND a dessert party in Epcot and the total bill came in under 10k for a Saturday ceremony. You will pay twice that for a Saturday Wishes ceremony. I won't say I had *total* flexibility with the package - obviously, the guest count was restricted, but that didn't end up being a problem for me, and you don't get the planning session and whatnot - but I will say that my wedding was fantastic. Anything I thought I was missing by not having a Wishes wedding I did not miss.

The moral of my story is that you can definitely make an Escape wedding your own, and if you are wanting a smaller wedding, Escape is the way to go. Obviously a Wishes bride might have a different point of view, but I am really happy with how my wedding went!

 

[FairytaleBelle]

I like that with Wishes weddings you get little extras like the planning session- in which you can taste your food, taste your cake, and in this one session you can make sure you put across exactly what you want- something easier to do face to face than on the phone/by email...
I also like that the process starts soon with wishes, including priority with ceremony location (I think?) as you get your date at an earlier date.
With wishes you get room and park discounts for guests- which if they can't find better deals online may be something to consider as it makes their trips that much cheaper.

I've ready many pjs of brides who have managed to stay right on the wishes minimum. I've also read escape pjs where the brides felt that their wedding planners were reluctant to add on the extras - they have to in the end obviously but it just could be an additional stress!

Saying that, escape is a nice package with all the basics you'll need and if you aren't an avid planner like me (ha) that could be more suited to your tastes.

With the 20 max for escape and 20 min for wishes I know disney are strict on the escape maximums but the wishes I'm sure they'd be more lenient as long as you invited more than 20 initiallyand hit your minimums

 

[geek+nerd]

DH and I had an Escape wedding with Cinderella's coach and a dessert party in Morocco almost two years ago. It was the best decision for us. Initially, I was disappointed with the guest limit, but we had a lot of people not able/willing to make the trip to Florida. We ended up with 17 total, including us.

We had our lunch off property. Even when factoring in our lunch, we came in under a Wishes minimum. I was able to personalize my bouquet at no extra charge, we added some additional floral for our mothers, my dad, officiant (my BIL got ordained online to marry us-it was awesome!), flower girl, ring bearer and best man. We were also able to use Wishes filling flavor for one layer of our cake and change outside from fondant to buttercream at no extra charge.

I suggest sending out a pre-RSVP to see how many people would consider traveling for your wedding. Getting those numbers back might help you make your decision.

Good luck!

 

[Summer Daydream]

I am having an escape wedding. When we announced our wedding plan, most people said they wouldn't come. So I decided to forget them and just go with an escape. I have seen a lot more flexibility with customizing escape weddings lately, which excites me. We are planning on having 18 people, including us. We are not having a reception, we are going out to a nice dinner after, at one of our favorite restaurants. It would be nice to lock in my date sooner (a year out for wishes vs 8 months out for escape) but I am happy we are keeping our wedding intimate and low key. Good luck with your decision.

 

[DisneyDudet]

With the Escape, while variety is limited, so is the stress. You're able to pick things from a selection and just show up. My entire wedding at WDW has become FAR less stressful than the reception party I'm having here at home. I don't get to have a big reception at a super cool place, but it seems stressful to me to have so many options and things to figure out. Plus, I'm paying for this wedding myself, so I didn't need to spend too much. Besides a handful if friends that would come, the family members that are coming to our Escape wedding would be the majority of those who would come to a Wishes wedding.

We are having a dinner at one of the restaurants at GF, and it won't cost $5000 at all. Not even close.

I don't regret having an Escape wedding. While I would love the big Wishes wedding, I don't want the stress along with it. My Escape wedding will be just as magical as any Wishes wedding one could plan.

 

[Mausk]

Thank you everyone, I think we're going to go with Wishes for the reception. Thanks for all of your input!

 

[bradleyjess]

Do you have a specific day you want to get married on? I'm having a 10 am Monday ceremony with brunch which makes my food and beverage minimums lower and my overall minimum at Disney is $10,000 -- not much more than an escape. I've been able to keep my budget within $10,00 so far.

Also, with Wishes, you get more location options and the flexibility to invite more people even of they don't show up. If you don't hit the 20 person minimum, you'll just pay the difference.

 

[Mausk]

Do you have a specific day you want to get married on? I'm having a 10 am Monday ceremony with brunch which makes my food and beverage minimums lower and my overall minimum at Disney is $10,000 -- not much more than an escape. I've been able to keep my budget within $10,00 so far.

Also, with Wishes, you get more location options and the flexibility to invite more people even of they don't show up. If you don't hit the 20 person minimum, you'll just pay the difference.

We were going to do the 10am but are wanting lunch after the wedding since we are both vegan and it's easier to create a menu being lunch food. We are thinking April 28th of 2014, hopefully being a full week after Easter next year it won't be too crowded. I really want Sea Breeze point which is available for both packages, so I think we're just going to go with Wishes because I'm a planner, and having to wait 3 more months to even START anything is killing me! ha! I truly am a princess in this situation. Do you have any idea what the difference would be if we ended up only having 18 people show up? I'm worried that we won't have enough show up, but as long as Disney gets their money they can't be too mad.

 

[bradleyjess]

I think you'd be responsible for the 2 no-shows which would be $125 per person minimum plus tax and service charge at a lunch reception.

Just so you know, you can serve lunch food at a brunch reception. It's the time of the reception that dictates the food and beverage minimums, not what's served