Why I decided against a Disney Wedding

[FizzingWhizzbee]

I am writing this to tell prospective Disney brides why I decided against a DFTW.

I understand that there are many veteran brides who may not agree with my analysis, but I would have liked to have this information earlier on.

These are some of the reasons:

To have a character come to your wedding for less than 30 minutes (it's timed from when they leave and re-enter the dressing room) costs 900 dollars, not including tax or service charge. (UPDATE: 4/4/12, I was informed that there is no tax or service charge on character visits)

There are multiple minimum prices to abide by. For example, you have to spend at least 12,000 (not including tax and a 21% service charge) on the event. And, you have to spend at least 100pp (not including tax and a 21% service charge) for brunch.
There is no way that my guests are going to eat 100 dollars worth of brunch food. But instead of being able to allocate the funds as I see fit, I have to spend 100 dollars on food that won't be eaten.
Also, you cannot take leftover food with you. I believe that is because Disney knows fully well that they won't be providing 100 dollars worth of food per person, this is just a way for them to get more money and provide less.

If you want an outside band, you have to pay Disney 1,550 dollars for "technical support". As most bands just need an outlet, this is an unreasonable charge.

The room block. This whole thing was a huge pain. In my opinion they should just offer a room discount for guests of a wedding.

Also, my wedding coordinator acted like Disney was doing us a huge favor by letting us have our wedding there, and I didn't feel the same way. Every question was answered in a vague way, or I was told that my wedding planner would discuss it further. I wanted facts before I signed away 2,000 dollars.

This is all I can think of for now, but my entire perception is that Disney is money grubbing on the weddings.

What is unfortunate is that we love Disney, that's why we wanted to get married there. We probably would have gone back for many anniversaries. Not to mention, we would have brought about 100 guests to Disney, many who had never been. Disney could get many customers out of this, but instead they basically talked us out of this.

I know there is a high demand for Disney weddings, and maybe that's why they didn't feel the need to cater to us.

I can't imagine that I'm the only one who has changed my mind, and it seems like Disney may be losing money over this attitude, but I guess it's just a drop in the bucket for them.

I still love Disney Parks, but DFTW isn't getting a dime of mine.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

I think all your concerns are completely reasonable. I don't judge you for it. Are you considering S&D or another Orlando-based alternative?

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

I think all your concerns are completely reasonable. I don't judge you for it. Are you considering S&D or another Orlando-based alternative?

 

[fireofmarajade]

To me, the money was going to be spent either way and the minimum was reasonable to the amount that was already going to be gone either way.
\
My brunch is NOT $100 per person though and I only picked the # of items and quantity of it that we need.

The room block is a bit of a pain to grasp - just like ADRs
AS a family, we chose to NOT use the wedding discount and go with FREE DINING offer instead. I then emailed the reservation coordinator the #s and they were added to the room block manually. I had done the math prior and was EXACT. it was there to help us make the reservations if we needed that discount, but were able to choose any one we wanted- their room only or else wise!

I am only using an iPod setup and am renting the base speakers for $150

I do understand that the vagueness is maddening... but it is because you can have your fairytale wedding as you want. money is appropriated as you want to be. PHOTOGRAPHY is the only catch depending on WHERE you have your ceremony. Mine is in park so I DO have to use them... but i want to use them so its not an issue as some of the other brides have brought up.

If you want a disney wedding, re-evaluate. if you want something else, go for that!
Checkout the other options - swan and dolphin, military SOG, or others!

Just wanted to let you know there are options in case you did want a Fairy Tale wedding... I have been mad at disney's policies but somehow the team works everything out!

 

[redshirt]

I agree the prices are crazy, but we were going to have our VR initially in Las Vegas. Once I budgeted everything out and got the total for the entire trip I jokingly said "for this much we might as well get married at Disney". It is literally just $200 more than what I would have spent in Vegas for a shorter time period. (including the whole trip in the prices not just ceremony) There are ways to make it work if it's something you really want to do. I also researched getting married in NYC and that was well beyond the Disney price. (for major locations) I think most well known, popular destination spots are extra crazy in price. I called Universal to see if they do ceremonies there, and they said nothing under 150 people and wouldn't even quote a price.

At the end of the day it's DISNEY. When is anything they do ever cheap? From their live shows that go around the country to the price of their movies to the price of everything at the parks and hotels. They charge these prices because they can, and because they know people are going to pay it.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Hi sweetie
I completely understand the concerns you have over some points of a DFTW event. Many of the minimums spends are addressed in Carrie's book, but can come as a bit of a shock if you are unaware of them!!
I think that sometimes a 'blind eye' is turned on a bride wanting to take away some of the left over food, particularly from dessert parties!!
It was because of some of the things you mention, that I eventually went with S/D for my VR. It is a decision I have never regretted for one minute. If you have your heart set on WDW for your wedding, have you considered this option? Still right there in WDW but without some of the 'annoyances' that you encounter with DFTW!!!
Let me know if you would like to know more.

 

[giffy231]

For us, the #1 reason we chose to go off property was the misinformation we got each time we called. Their employees had no idea what the current rules or policies were and even when I ASKED they still could not give me accurate information or prices. With policies you can call 10 times and get 10 different answers and the same goes for pricing. I neeed to know EXACTLY how much every penny is going to cost BEFORE commiting to anything.

and

#2 that whole you should consider it a priveledge to be getting married here and just suck it up and roll with all the surprise costs and misinformation we give you each time you speak with us. It is like they completely forget that YOU ARE PAYING for that and the customer service was not there. The wedding department needs to do some serious training and roll out changes to their staff well in advance so when people call, they get correct information.

We also were not fond of the hit or miss photography and lack of caring on Disneys part.

We are getting married off property and then having a dinner at the California Grill. We are doing a lot better on price and customizing and getting all of the elements we want without having to pay extra. Disney wanted us to still pay for the parts we could not use and pay extra to add on what we would use.Like photography, if you can't deliver consistently good photos, then we should be able to get our own photog and substitute something else. It just was not going to work for us.

 

[sambycat]

The subtext of your decision I can't argue with, but your facts are skewed. also, no matter what the total price point, any major resort/hotel venue in the wedding biz will have the same general rules and regulations to deal with and it would be up to the individual to decide if they offered the same package in total as Disney. I would beat a limb on the fact that the more "affordable" S&D packages wouldn't be as loose as they are we're S&D not right next to Disney.

Good for you and your decision, certsinly not trying to argue or convince you otherwise. Happy planning wherever that takes you

 

[One_Song]

I agree that some of the DFTW policies can be frustrating, and I think every couple has to decide what is best for them. That being said

Every question was answered in a vague way, or I was told that my wedding planner would discuss it further. I wanted facts before I signed away 2,000 dollars.

I don't fault them for this at all. I can't imagine how many inquiring calls Disney gets that turn out to be nothing. They would quickly waste a lot of time by answering every single question asked by someone who wasn't realistically willing to sign a contract.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

I think all your concerns are completely reasonable. I don't judge you for it. Are you considering S&D or another Orlando-based alternative?

We aren't. We had originally planned to do a JOP wedding. That was what I wanted, and it made the most financial sense.

Then we changed our minds and decided to have a wedding in our hometown, but after realizing how much it would cost (about 16,000), I didn't really see the value. I've thrown a lot of parties and none have ever cost anywhere near that.

Then we were going back to JOP when my fiance suggested Disney. We knew that it would be more expensive than we were planning, but we had just returned from a trip to WDW and were so pleased with the quality of service that we felt it would be worth the extra money.

When I contacted Disney, they were not at all helpful like they are at the parks, and I became so irritated, that I think we are going to do JOP. It's what I originally wanted and we can take a great trip and still have plenty left over.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

To me, the money was going to be spent either way and the minimum was reasonable to the amount that was already going to be gone either way.
\
My brunch is NOT $100 per person though and I only picked the # of items and quantity of it that we need.

The room block is a bit of a pain to grasp - just like ADRs
AS a family, we chose to NOT use the wedding discount and go with FREE DINING offer instead. I then emailed the reservation coordinator the #s and they were added to the room block manually. I had done the math prior and was EXACT. it was there to help us make the reservations if we needed that discount, but were able to choose any one we wanted- their room only or else wise!

I am only using an iPod setup and am renting the base speakers for $150

I do understand that the vagueness is maddening... but it is because you can have your fairytale wedding as you want. money is appropriated as you want to be. PHOTOGRAPHY is the only catch depending on WHERE you have your ceremony. Mine is in park so I DO have to use them... but i want to use them so its not an issue as some of the other brides have brought up.

If you want a disney wedding, re-evaluate. if you want something else, go for that!
Checkout the other options - swan and dolphin, military SOG, or others!

Just wanted to let you know there are options in case you did want a Fairy Tale wedding... I have been mad at disney's policies but somehow the team works everything out!

How much was your brunch minimum pp? Keep in mind, mine would have been in 2013, so they raised the minimum from 75 to 100.

It sounds like DTFW was a lot more helpful for you than they were for me.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

I agree the prices are crazy, but we were going to have our VR initially in Las Vegas. Once I budgeted everything out and got the total for the entire trip I jokingly said "for this much we might as well get married at Disney". It is literally just $200 more than what I would have spent in Vegas for a shorter time period. (including the whole trip in the prices not just ceremony) There are ways to make it work if it's something you really want to do. I also researched getting married in NYC and that was well beyond the Disney price. (for major locations) I think most well known, popular destination spots are extra crazy in price. I called Universal to see if they do ceremonies there, and they said nothing under 150 people and wouldn't even quote a price.

At the end of the day it's DISNEY. When is anything they do ever cheap? From their live shows that go around the country to the price of their movies to the price of everything at the parks and hotels. They charge these prices because they can, and because they know people are going to pay it.

That's awesome that it worked out for you. I know Disney isn't cheap, but I have always seen the value in the price. With the wedding, for me, I didn't see the value.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

Hi sweetie
I completely understand the concerns you have over some points of a DFTW event. Many of the minimums spends are addressed in Carrie's book, but can come as a bit of a shock if you are unaware of them!!
I think that sometimes a 'blind eye' is turned on a bride wanting to take away some of the left over food, particularly from dessert parties!!
It was because of some of the things you mention, that I eventually went with S/D for my VR. It is a decision I have never regretted for one minute. If you have your heart set on WDW for your wedding, have you considered this option? Still right there in WDW but without some of the 'annoyances' that you encounter with DFTW!!!
Let me know if you would like to know more.

As far as taking food, we probably wouldn't want to take much, if any. What frustrated me is that Disney was forcing us to over order.

I would have looked at S/D originally if I had known about it, but at this point I'm not really interested in a big wedding. I just can't wait to marry my best friend.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

For us, the #1 reason we chose to go off property was the misinformation we got each time we called. Their employees had no idea what the current rules or policies were and even when I ASKED they still could not give me accurate information or prices. With policies you can call 10 times and get 10 different answers and the same goes for pricing. I neeed to know EXACTLY how much every penny is going to cost BEFORE commiting to anything.

and

#2 that whole you should consider it a priveledge to be getting married here and just suck it up and roll with all the surprise costs and misinformation we give you each time you speak with us. It is like they completely forget that YOU ARE PAYING for that and the customer service was not there. The wedding department needs to do some serious training and roll out changes to their staff well in advance so when people call, they get correct information.

We also were not fond of the hit or miss photography and lack of caring on Disneys part.

We are getting married off property and then having a dinner at the California Grill. We are doing a lot better on price and customizing and getting all of the elements we want without having to pay extra. Disney wanted us to still pay for the parts we could not use and pay extra to add on what we would use.Like photography, if you can't deliver consistently good photos, then we should be able to get our own photog and substitute something else. It just was not going to work for us.

I forgot to mention the misinformation. We had varying answers depending on who we talked to.

And, I completely agree about the "privilege to be getting married here", I like Disney, but not that much. As a (would have been) paying customer, I expect a good level of service and I did not receive it.

 

[girli565]

I won't knock your decision but the per person minimums are usually inclusive of all per person items on your wedding day not just the food and beverage amounts. If you get special napkins, linens, chair covers, ribbon wands for your exit; those all count towards the per person minimum of $100 for brunch.

 

[tigger536]

What about doing memories collection? Or escape? You can do these for far less than what you quoted above...

 

[girli565]

I won't knock your decision but the per person minimums are usually inclusive of all per person items on your wedding day not just the food and beverage amounts. If you get special napkins, linens, chair covers, ribbon wands for your exit; those all count towards the per person minimum of $100 for brunch.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

The subtext of your decision I can't argue with, but your facts are skewed

How are my facts skewed?

My intention is to be informative, so if something I said is incorrect, I would like to correct it as fast as possible.

 

[tigger536]

The brunch minimums also include drinks for each person...so especially if you have alcohol this makes that minimum much easier to meet. The $100 is not just food.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

I won't knock your decision but the per person minimums are usually inclusive of all per person items on your wedding day not just the food and beverage amounts. If you get special napkins, linens, chair covers, ribbon wands for your exit; those all count towards the per person minimum of $100 for brunch.

Special napkins, linens, chair covers, ribbon wands, etc, count toward the total minimum expenditure (in my case 12,000).

As far as I was told, they do not count toward the food and beverage per person minimum.

Which, is just another example of DFTW inconsistency.