Escape Wedding & Private Dinner Questions

Samantha Ellis

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 14, 2015
Hi, everyone! My fiancé and I just got re-engaged after five years (which is why you may have seen me post before), and are planning a Disney Escape Wedding for April 13, 2021 (on a Tuesday). Obviously we can't contact Disney yet, but I have a lot of the planning done already. The main thing that I'm stressing about is where and how to do a private dinner afterwards. I think I'm quite flexible, which leaves so many choices! Hopefully I can give you guys an idea of what I want and you can help me out.

Our ceremony will be at either the Wedding Pavilion or Sea Breeze Point. We want to get as much use out of the limo as possible, so I'd like for it to get us (and whoever's staying in a nearby Disney hotel) from the hotel to the ceremony, and I would like the limo to take us to dinner as well if possible. We'll probably have around 15 guests, not quite the 18 limit, and I'm fine with getting married at any time of day, even though I realize that the earlier our ceremony, the fewer options there will be for dinner as many don't open until 5pm.

A private room would be ideal, but if whatever restaurant we choose at least puts our wedding party out of the way in a semi-secluded spot, that would also be fine. I think instead of a pre-set plated menu, we want to just have everyone order whatever they want and just pay the bill, since our party is smaller. My number one choice, which seems impossible to swing, is The Hollywood Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios. As a film historian, I would LOVE to include that kind of atmosphere and glamour into our reception, but I would assume everyone would have to have Hollywood Studios passes to attend, right? Or is there a way to escort the guests straight to the restaurant and not require admission? Would we be able to have the cake and champagne there, and our photographer, or would this not be allowed within their two-hour time window? Would I be able to wear my dress (a big, fluffy Disney gown I bought from Alfred Angelo before they closed)? I'm having a hard time finding lists of all of the restaurants with private dining rooms (even though it's not a must), and since it isn't a must, there are just so many other choices if The Brown Derby is a no go!

Also, there are no kids in our party, but quite a few seniors and my mom is disabled, so I'm worried about them getting around from place to place, especially from the Boardwalk Inn to Sea Breeze Point as I've heard there are no vehicles allowed, as well as walking from the Floridian to the Wedding Pavilion. I'm even worried about myself when it comes to long walks in full hair and makeup!

I know this is kind of all over the place, but I hope I've made some sense! Thanks in advance for all of your help!
 
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There is the Bamboo Room in HBD which you could book for your dinner but then you’d have to choose a menu and meet f&b minimums and I don’t know the price of the room but I bet @lurkyloo has it in her fairytale weddings guide. You could book one way vans to get ppl from the wedding pavilion or sbp to DHS.
 
Did you see the new 2020 changes and extended planning window timelines ? I got the email today because I was planning a March 2021 escape wedding. But they changed a lot of stuff and even the planning timeline so you can actually be assigned a consultant because they made the planning window 16mo in advance !
 
Did you see the new 2020 changes and extended planning window timelines ? I got the email today because I was planning a March 2021 escape wedding. But they changed a lot of stuff and even the planning timeline so you can actually be assigned a consultant because they made the planning window 16mo in advance !
That is wonderful to hear about the new and extended planning window of 16 mo. Since so many people are planning to travel in from out of town, having over a year to plan and print out materials- as well as inform your guests- is so much more realistic. They may have things down to a science, but the rest of us have jobs, families, and other commitments to honor that a short time line can really complicate. I’m curious as to why they finally changed their policy??
 


That is wonderful to hear about the new and extended planning window of 16 mo. Since so many people are planning to travel in from out of town, having over a year to plan and print out materials- as well as inform your guests- is so much more realistic. They may have things down to a science, but the rest of us have jobs, families, and other commitments to honor that a short time line can really complicate. I’m curious as to why they finally changed their policy??
That’s Such a good question ! They also released the guest cap. There is no maximum guest anymore. The whole thing has completely changed ! There really isn’t “packages” anymore. There’s venues with minimums depending on time of year and day of the week and what venue. I wish the board would let me post a link. But so many things have changed. They revamped the entire process and policy. I’m waiting on the wedding coordinator to email me with nitty gritty details but the link the sales rep sent me had a lot of information on the new wedding policies and prices.
 
I am so stunned by this news! I don't know if it's going to be good or bad for our wedding just yet, so I reached out to the planners to see if I can get some more details. I was wondering why I couldn't get the Escape information up on the site yesterday, and this explains it! Thank you so much, I'm so nervous now! I just hope we can still do somewhat of the same wedding we want and that they're not just trying to charge more for each a la carte thing. 😫
 
I am so stunned by this news! I don't know if it's going to be good or bad for our wedding just yet, so I reached out to the planners to see if I can get some more details. I was wondering why I couldn't get the Escape information up on the site yesterday, and this explains it! Thank you so much, I'm so nervous now! I just hope we can still do somewhat of the same wedding we want and that they're not just trying to charge more for each a la carte thing. 😫
Some of the ladies in the FB group I’m in are saying it’s approximately the same or potentially cheaper for their weddings now with the new pricing so 🤞
 


For private dining you could look at the attic or if you have enough with photography with park shoots and things to hit your minimums you could look at shulas over at the swan and dolphin. That’s where we are having ours. They have private rooms and the menu selections for the private dining rooms are great. Let me know if you want more details on that. We are having a sea breeze point wedding and then walking to shulas for dinner and then taking the boat to Epcot for our dessert party. Our wedding is in 13 days! Can’t wait.
 
I explain all the new pricing in this week's episode of the podcast, and there's a link in the post to the complete pricing document: https://disneyweddingpodcast.com/disney-world-wedding-pricing-2020/

My number one choice, which seems impossible to swing, is The Hollywood Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios. As a film historian, I would LOVE to include that kind of atmosphere and glamour into our reception, but I would assume everyone would have to have Hollywood Studios passes to attend, right?

Correct. There is no way to have your guests escorted into the park without paying admission unless you are hosting a private event in the park.

Would we be able to have the cake and champagne there, and our photographer, or would this not be allowed within their two-hour time window?

The cake and Champagne must be consumed at the ceremony site OR you can have it transferred to a private event planned for you by Disney Weddings at one of the resorts (not the parks). Otherwise, they just box up the cake after the event and send it off with you. You can pay to extend your photographer's time to cover the reception or restaurant meal.

Would I be able to wear my dress (a big, fluffy Disney gown I bought from Alfred Angelo before they closed)?

It's up to the discretion of the cast members at the gate. If they think it is a trip hazard, they won't let you in.

I'm having a hard time finding lists of all of the restaurants with private dining rooms (even though it's not a must), and since it isn't a must, there are just so many other choices if The Brown Derby is a no go!

There's a list in Chapter 2 of my guide.

Also, there are no kids in our party, but quite a few seniors and my mom is disabled, so I'm worried about them getting around from place to place, especially from the Boardwalk Inn to Sea Breeze Point as I've heard there are no vehicles allowed, as well as walking from the Floridian to the Wedding Pavilion. I'm even worried about myself when it comes to long walks in full hair and makeup!

You can rent a scooter or wheelchair to make it easier for your mom.
 

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