Newbie Questions - Disney Wedding

[imwonderboy]

I have a few questions for those who have had or are planning a Disney Intimate wedding. First, has anyone found it cheaper to use the add-on package vs. the whole package? We would like to stay at the Carribean Beach Resort and I know the full package includes stays at a deluxe resort. Will the rates be lower if I choose a moderate rather than deluxe. The reason for this is I want to keep all of my family and guests in the same resort and most can't afford a deluxe. Also, we don't care either way. Really, how much time do you spend in your room? When we are at Disney we are only there to sleep. Second question - Has anyone tried to invite more than the allowed guests and only invite certain ones to the ceremony? I know Disney says not to do this but what if family/friends want to go and won't mind staying at the resort for the 2-3 hours of the reception? We are far from booking anything at this point and are planning a wedding for November 2004. I know I will be posting many more questions before then. Everyone is sooo helpful. Thanks so much.

Jason and Tracy

 

[imwonderboy]

I forgot - what about plane tickets? Has anyone found a carrier that allows for good group rates? Thanks again.

 

[LisaLovesDisney]

Hi Jason & Tracy,
First, Congrats on your upcoming wedding. Planning is going to be alot of fun for you guys. Waiting for the day when you can book is hard but after you book it will fly by. I will share with you my experiences so far. My sister is a Disney Vacation Club member and she booked rooms for my fiance and I and our families at Disney's Boardwalk Villas using her time share points so we did not need the accomodations option that is included in the IW package. So, when I booked last December we booked the IW add on package and that includes everything listed in the IW package except the accomodations and hopper passes. That is an option for you and your fiance. Just book your rooms Carribean Beach Resort and then book your IW add on package in November 2003 just keep in mind that you still need to purchase passes but can get a group discount on those and they will send you info on how to purchase the discounted hopper passes when you get your IW package. As far as going over the IW limit. I would not advise it. I have not heard anyone ever trying it but when you get you IW paperwprk you need to provide your coordinator all of your guest names and reservation numbers and I don't think it would go over to well if you invite more than allowed and they are not allowed to see the wedding. Contact airlines specifically for group reservations and discounts. Hope this helps you guys!

 

[LISAMWDW]

It was less expensive for us also to book our hotel rooms separately then have the add on for the wedding package which was $2100. We used discount codes for our deluxe accommodations so it worked out well! I would highly recommend booking separately.

Also, as far as having more people attend. You can have an extra 5 people attend for a charge of $500 which will be charged to you after your ceremony. Disney is very very strict about this policy. They want to have one Coordinator for every 8 guests or so. I would suggest talking to your coordinator about this if your going to invite more guests. However, it is not possible to go around this. From what I've heard, couples have tried to have their family/guests stand back from the ceremony but this does not work. Disney is very strict about it's policies. Just a warning!

Have a fun planning you wedding! Congrats!

 

[imwonderboy]

Thanks for the replies. It is not that we are trying to "get over" on Disney but we have two potential problems. One - We would like a "adult only" ceremony and have expressed that to the few family members that have children. They have no problem with this (and actually prefer it) but have offered to have one adult stay at the resort and watch the children during the ceremony. That would be 4 children and 1 adult that would NOT attend the ceremony but they would still qualify as "guests". Problem Two - I have 4 family members who travel to Disney every year and have asked when we are going so they can plan their vacation around ours. This way we could meet up at a park or two during the week. Does Disney still consider these four people guests? I have a hard time telling my family that they can't be in Disney at the same time as us simply because we are getting married. I would just make my life easy and upgrade to a custom package but we don't have that kind of money. We have been trying to "keep it simple, stupid". Anyway, please give me some more feedback.

 

[imwonderboy]

I called Disney tonight and spoke with a woman in the weddings department. She told me that for intimate weddings only those guests who will be at the ceremony count as your alloted guests. If others wish to be at Disney and stay at their resort or go into the parks during the ceremony and meet up afterwards that is OK. They obviously won't allow others to stand at a distance and watch the ceremony but that will not be a problem for us. This is very helpful for us especially with our guests that have children and do not mind "staying behind" during the ceremony. We will simply meet up with everyone after the ceremony and spend the rest of the week together.