2014 15 prices

[Lillian Gracey]

Escape has its own pricing and does not appear to have changed. The big overhaul has been for wishes.

Thanks so much for clarifying! Now I can relax again.

 

[Mike Mouse]

You should look into the disney swan weddings. Much cheaper, can use any outside venders u want, still on disney property, no limits on number of guests. A lot more bang for your buck and allows u to budget more for reception/welcome parties than paying crazy money just for the venue.

 

[TiffinyKaye]

You should look into the disney swan weddings. Much cheaper, can use any outside venders u want, still on disney property, no limits on number of guests. A lot more bang for your buck and allows u to budget more for reception/welcome parties than paying crazy money just for the venue.

Mike Mouse--I get where you're coming from on the Disney Swan weddings...but do you know if you can have Disney characters at the wedding, and still do all the other photography options in the parks?

For me and my fiance--the reason we're spending the money to get married in Disney, instead of having just a cute little Disney-esque ceremony in Utah, are for two things:

1. Disney characters at the wedding (Mickey & Minnie)
2. Pictures (specifically a Magic Kingdom photo session in front of the castle)

I would be inclined to maybe go Disney Swan, given the new pricing for Disney Weddings...but without those elements, there'd really be no purpose in us spending the money at that point. If we can't have those two things...we'd just spend all the money on the honeymoon.

I really hope what I'm hearing from people is correct--if you've been talking to someone under the old pricing, they'll give it to you. I am FREAKING OUT about the additional cost. Like, FREAKING OUT. I have been in touch with Disney for a year. I have all the older brochures they emailed me about pricing, and essentially budgeted on those because they were supposed to be updated for 2014. Just to be safe, I budgeted in that SOME elements might go up. They then jacked up ALL The prices beyond what was there...and I just feel like it's not even worth it at this point because I can't imagine trying to come up with another $2K-$5K. We just can't pull money out of the air.


Dude...I just want to cry.

 

[mb187143]

Mike Mouse--I get where you're coming from on the Disney Swan weddings...but do you know if you can have Disney characters at the wedding, and still do all the other photography options in the parks? For me and my fiance--the reason we're spending the money to get married in Disney, instead of having just a cute little Disney-esque ceremony in Utah, are for two things: 1. Disney characters at the wedding (Mickey & Minnie) 2. Pictures (specifically a Magic Kingdom photo session in front of the castle) I would be inclined to maybe go Disney Swan, given the new pricing for Disney Weddings...but without those elements, there'd really be no purpose in us spending the money at that point. If we can't have those two things...we'd just spend all the money on the honeymoon. I really hope what I'm hearing from people is correct--if you've been talking to someone under the old pricing, they'll give it to you. I am FREAKING OUT about the additional cost. Like, FREAKING OUT. I have been in touch with Disney for a year. I have all the older brochures they emailed me about pricing, and essentially budgeted on those because they were supposed to be updated for 2014. Just to be safe, I budgeted in that SOME elements might go up. They then jacked up ALL The prices beyond what was there...and I just feel like it's not even worth it at this point because I can't imagine trying to come up with another $2K-$5K. We just can't pull money out of the air. Dude...I just want to cry.

Not sure about the characters (I know you can have them at the swan and dolphin, not sure if there are any restrictions).

The MK photo shoot is exclusively for DFTW brides only, so if you go the S/D route, that's not an option for you. All three other parks are though.

 

[TiffinyKaye]

Not sure about the characters (I know you can have them at the swan and dolphin, not sure if there are any restrictions).

The MK photo shoot is exclusively for DFTW brides only, so if you go the S/D route, that's not an option for you. All three other parks are though.

That is SOOO depressing to hear. Thanks though. We'll need to either figure something out, or scrap Disney wedding all together. The MK photo shoot and characters were pretty much the deal breakers of a Disney wedding.

I know they have every right to "want more money," but it's really sneaky and stupid of them to have done it the way that they did. I have been in contact for almost a year now with the same senior wedding consultant just to have little questions answered here and there. She even sent me brochures with 2014/2015 wedding pricing on them--and they were NOT as huge of hikes as what they've turned into as of October. I didn't notice the price hikes until yesterday, now that I'm all ready to sign a contract. I've been budgeting this whole year based on those numbers, and was operating under the assumption that the price COULD go up--but not by thousands of dollars. It screws with all of my numbers.

If Disney had said in January or February 2013, "Hey! These are our prices for 2014," then fine--that gives me more of an idea. But now that they're at the place where people can book into 2014...it's just going to INSTANTLY wipe people out. It's not that I wouldn't have paid the higher prices--but now I'm pretty much in a situation of where I probably CAN'T because they just barely sprung it on us. Inflation hasn't gone up THAT much. They OWN the property--there's no reason park site feeds should have gone up by like $1,000.

I feel like all my hard work, and the hard work I'd be doing this whole year to pay for it, has just been dashed...and all because Mickey wanted more money.

 

[bigr3ddog]

That is SOOO depressing to hear. Thanks though. We'll need to either figure something out, or scrap Disney wedding all together. The MK photo shoot and characters were pretty much the deal breakers of a Disney wedding.

I know they have every right to "want more money," but it's really sneaky and stupid of them to have done it the way that they did. I have been in contact for almost a year now with the same senior wedding consultant just to have little questions answered here and there. She even sent me brochures with 2014/2015 wedding pricing on them--and they were NOT as huge of hikes as what they've turned into as of October. I didn't notice the price hikes until yesterday, now that I'm all ready to sign a contract. I've been budgeting this whole year based on those numbers, and was operating under the assumption that the price COULD go up--but not by thousands of dollars. It screws with all of my numbers.

If Disney had said in January or February 2013, "Hey! These are our prices for 2014," then fine--that gives me more of an idea. But now that they're at the place where people can book into 2014...it's just going to INSTANTLY wipe people out. It's not that I wouldn't have paid the higher prices--but now I'm pretty much in a situation of where I probably CAN'T because they just barely sprung it on us. Inflation hasn't gone up THAT much. They OWN the property--there's no reason park site feeds should have gone up by like $1,000.

I feel like all my hard work, and the hard work I'd be doing this whole year to pay for it, has just been dashed...and all because Mickey wanted more money.

Don't make any rash decisions until you have that conversation with your wedding coordinator. People who are already penciled in for a 2014 wedding will be under the old pricing (so $10,000 minimum for a 2014 wedding held on a Monday with a 9 am or 10 am ceremony). What isn't clear to me is if you've been in contact with DFTW but aren't penciled in yet, do you still have that old pricing structure or are you under the new structure? I'm assuming that if you have been contemplating between Escape vs Wishes, you must have somewhere around 20-30 guests (Escape is 20 or under and Wishes is 21 and over).

Assuming you have 25 guests, under the old structure you have $2300 for an Epcot ceremony and $2500 minimum for food. You then have to spend at least $5200 for everything else. Mickey and Minnie will be about $1500. MK bridal shoot is $1700. $3000 left. You have whatever decor, floral, transportation to and from Epcot, and entertainment left. If your reception is in a venue that is already themed, such as Living Seas Salon, then you won't have to do much for decor. A sound system at Canada can be $800-1000, and you would probably need one if the waterfall is running, so now you're left with $2000 left for a $10,000 minimum.

Some Disney photography packages give you a discount (25% or more) off a bridal shoot, but you'll have to inquire about details.

If you're under the new pricing structure, then it's still do-able, but it will cost a little more. Epcot ceremony is $3500 but you get sound and a musician included. Food is now $125/person, so for 25 people, that's $3125, putting you now at $6625. You have to spend $5000 in enhancements. Mickey and Minnie and bridal shoot are $3200, so $1800 left, but your overall minimum under this structure is $11,625.

So it's still do-able, especially if you are thinking of a budget of $12k-$15k overall. The big thing under the new pricing is number of guests because food no longer counts towards an overall minimum. However, if your wedding is relatively small, you might do okay.

I would also suggest to cut down on your transportation costs, consider only two resorts in your room block: a value and a deluxe. That way, you only have to pay for transportation from two resorts instead of three. Many people have found that guests either need to go cheap or they splurge.

Good luck.

 

[lurkyloo]

If you've been talking to a senior wedding consultant for a year, you will be grandfathered in under the old pricing structure.

 

[bethyylovee]

Is this price change for Escape weddings, also?

 

[lurkyloo]

No. They just changed the structure they use to price Wishes Collection events.

 

[1EvilQueenfan]

That is SOOO depressing to hear. Thanks though. We'll need to either figure something out, or scrap Disney wedding all together. The MK photo shoot and characters were pretty much the deal breakers of a Disney wedding. I know they have every right to "want more money," but it's really sneaky and stupid of them to have done it the way that they did. I have been in contact for almost a year now with the same senior wedding consultant just to have little questions answered here and there. She even sent me brochures with 2014/2015 wedding pricing on them--and they were NOT as huge of hikes as what they've turned into as of October. I didn't notice the price hikes until yesterday, now that I'm all ready to sign a contract. I've been budgeting this whole year based on those numbers, and was operating under the assumption that the price COULD go up--but not by thousands of dollars. It screws with all of my numbers. If Disney had said in January or February 2013, "Hey! These are our prices for 2014," then fine--that gives me more of an idea. But now that they're at the place where people can book into 2014...it's just going to INSTANTLY wipe people out. It's not that I wouldn't have paid the higher prices--but now I'm pretty much in a situation of where I probably CAN'T because they just barely sprung it on us. Inflation hasn't gone up THAT much. They OWN the property--there's no reason park site feeds should have gone up by like $1,000. I feel like all my hard work, and the hard work I'd be doing this whole year to pay for it, has just been dashed...and all because Mickey wanted more money.

If you are on a budget, look into a DCL wedding! You can still have the characters and do the MK bridal shoot!

 

[TiffinyKaye]

If you've been talking to a senior wedding consultant for a year, you will be grandfathered in under the old pricing structure.

Thanks, Lurkyloo! I appreciate it!!!!

Another question for you. My step-sister is the person who turned me on to DISboards recently for all the wedding stuff. She actually specifically mentioned you as a major contributor because of all the work you've done with writing a guide about your own wedding and sticking to a budget.

I have another thread going on about the MK portrait session--which reminds me of yours. I got an email from another girl on the boards about "horror stories" fo the MK portrait session. I thought, "How bad can it be?!" and Googled Magic Kingdom wedding portrait session...and your blog came up about yours by coincidence! I have to say--I was totally floored with the way yours turned out and how they treated you after the fact when you let them know they weren't acceptable--yet your wedding photos of Morocco turned out so beautifully.

How did that work out? Do you have any suggestions for making sure they look pretty? My fiance and I are just as happy to get married in Utah as we are in Disney--we just wanted AWESOME pictures to remember it by (which is why getting married and having pictures in Disney in our wedding attire is so important). After looking at your pictures MK pictures though--I got super antsy about ponying up the kind of dough it takes to have an MK session, only for them to turn out not looking great.

I called Disney Fine Art and Photography today about it. I let them know that I had seen some of their work on other weddings, and that it DIDN'T look like the work they presented on their website. I said, "I want the dreamy, ethereal, fairy-tale look" and the lady was like, "Okay! We can definitely make sure that happens."

Should I be wary to listen to her? I'm all sorts of nervous to hear, "We'll make sure yours is BEAUTIFUL!" when I about other brides that weren't pleased with theirs.

Tiffiny

 

[Chilly]

Carrie's photos in Morocco weren't taken by Disney that's why!

To help get the best MK photos possible i'd print out all the ones I liked so that I could show the photographer what I was aiming for and i'd make sure I knew what poses looked good and what didn't and not let the photographer waste time doing shots I know I won't like.

 

[TiffinyKaye]

Carrie's photos in Morocco weren't taken by Disney that's why!

To help get the best MK photos possible i'd print out all the ones I liked so that I could show the photographer what I was aiming for and i'd make sure I knew what poses looked good and what didn't and not let the photographer waste time doing shots I know I won't like.

Good call. We will probably end up doing that.

So--if her photos were gorgeous at the wedding because Disney didn't do the photography...is the consensus that Disney does really crappy photography? My fiance and I are going to scrape everything we can just to pull off a Wishes wedding (we'd be scraping for an Escape too--it'll only be about $2K more to do Wishes, and I get the peace of mind of booking a year out). We definitely can't afford the $12K minimum expenditure PLUS hiring our own photographer.

 

[lurkyloo]

If it makes you feel better, Disney Photography has upgraded their equipment since my shoot, so that will help. Also, there are several new photographers that some people on this board have really enjoyed working with.

The problem is that Disney can't guarantee you'll get one of those photographers, so it's still kind of a crap shoot.

When it comes to wedding photography, where you actually have a choice, another of the objections many people have is the value for the money—you will get a lot more time and products for the same amount or less by using an outside photographer.

But for many of us, the biggest reason we went with non-Disney photographers for the wedding was the style of photography we like. Patrick and I prefer a photojournalistic look, which is why we chose Root Weddings. If we'd been allowed to use them for the Magic Kingdom bridal portrait, we would have jumped at the chance.

 

[TiffinyKaye]

If it makes you feel better, Disney Photography has upgraded their equipment since my shoot, so that will help. Also, there are several new photographers that some people on this board have really enjoyed working with.

The problem is that Disney can't guarantee you'll get one of those photographers, so it's still kind of a crap shoot.

When it comes to wedding photography, where you actually have a choice, another of the objections many people have is the value for the money—you will get a lot more time and products for the same amount or less by using an outside photographer.

But for many of us, the biggest reason we went with non-Disney photographers for the wedding was the style of photography we like. Patrick and I prefer a photojournalistic look, which is why we chose Root Weddings. If we'd been allowed to use them for the Magic Kingdom bridal portrait, we would have jumped at the chance.

We would be using an outside photographer too, Carrie, if we had the money. We have a friend here who shoots weddings, and her work is GORGEOUS (www.opiefoto.com). In a perfect world, we'd fly her out and have her do the pictures (of course, that doesn't solve the MK issue). The problem is, we can't afford to do that, or hire different photographers in the Orlando area. My fiance and I are pretty much saving up for a year for our wedding so that we can pay for it in cash and not have to worry about going into debt over it (though, with my savings trajectory, I'll probably end up still putting about $5K onto a credit card and doing a 0%-for-a-year balance transfer). That's JUST to meet the $12K minimum--and we're looking at a wedding that'll end up being about $15K, all said and done (with no flowers other than the bouquet and a groom's boutonniere ).

The bulk of our wedding costs actually are the photography...so without Disney photography, we could spend more money to meet the minimum on other cool stuff (like floral )--but then we'd still have to pay for photography from someone else on top of the $12K minimum. I'm not sure I could find someone who would do the awesome job we need for the other $3K.

Oh saddness. Sadness sadness of budget.

Tiffiny

 

[lurkyloo]

Dang! Well, hopefully you'll get some good ideas on your other thread for Disney photographers you might like to use!

 

[alyaki]

I'm not sure I could find someone who would do the awesome job we need for the other $3K.

Depending on what photo style you're looking for, I can think of several really good photographers in the Orlando area who could probably work with you to get what you want for that price, including Regina Hyman, Randy Chapman, and the Ardnts. I also vaguely remember hearing people talk about...Studio 22, I think (not the best memory on that one). I believe Jason Angelini and Misty Mioto are down there too, and I'm pretty certain I heard that Jason was reasonably priced. Long story short, talk to a couple - you may be surprised at what you can get for that price. I'm getting for for $3K from Regina than I would have if I was having a photographer of a similar caliber at home. With Regina, I'm getting an engagement session, a 16x20 picture, 8 hours of coverage, CD with all edited images (and the rights to print), and an album.

Short story, you may be able to get as much (or more) with an outside photographer for that amount. So I wouldn't rule it out.

 

[holula]

If it makes you feel better, Disney Photography has upgraded their equipment since my shoot, so that will help. Also, there are several new photographers that some people on this board have really enjoyed working with.

The problem is that Disney can't guarantee you'll get one of those photographers, so it's still kind of a crap shoot.

This is why we are using non-Disney photographers for our DCL wedding and being forced to use Disney for our park shoots. For the most important day of your life I would not chance having a good Disney photographer. I wanted someone who I was super happy with and really liked their style.

I know that Vicki and David Arndt have packages that are under $3k if that is your budget. You tend to get more for your money with an outside photog too.

 

[Chilly]

Yes Randy in particular is very reasonably priced.

 

[Mike Mouse]

Mike Mouse--I get where you're coming from on the Disney Swan weddings...but do you know if you can have Disney characters at the wedding, and still do all the other photography options in the parks?

For me and my fiance--the reason we're spending the money to get married in Disney, instead of having just a cute little Disney-esque ceremony in Utah, are for two things:

1. Disney characters at the wedding (Mickey & Minnie)
2. Pictures (specifically a Magic Kingdom photo session in front of the castle)

I would be inclined to maybe go Disney Swan, given the new pricing for Disney Weddings...but without those elements, there'd really be no purpose in us spending the money at that point. If we can't have those two things...we'd just spend all the money on the honeymoon.

I really hope what I'm hearing from people is correct--if you've been talking to someone under the old pricing, they'll give it to you. I am FREAKING OUT about the additional cost. Like, FREAKING OUT. I have been in touch with Disney for a year. I have all the older brochures they emailed me about pricing, and essentially budgeted on those because they were supposed to be updated for 2014. Just to be safe, I budgeted in that SOME elements might go up. They then jacked up ALL The prices beyond what was there...and I just feel like it's not even worth it at this point because I can't imagine trying to come up with another $2K-$5K. We just can't pull money out of the air.

Dude...I just want to cry.

Sorry for long delay on responding. You can do characters for swan wedding and that's what we are doing. You cannot do the magic kingdom photo shoot which for us isn't a huge deal cause u have to up at like 5am, my fiancee has to get her hair and makeup all done again and just seemed like a hassle. We were looking at dftw but I wasn't about to deal with those insane minimums. Having 60 guests, it would of cost us a fortune and have no money left for honeymoon which we are spending 3 weeks there. For photography, we are using regina hyman and she's a sweetheart. So friendly and her pics are amazing. I heard way too many horror stories about disney photographers. I know u can book outside now for dftw but when we signed, that wasn't the case. Overall....having the swan wedding with photoshoot on the boardwalk is seriously saving us half the money of a dftw. That means more money for fun add ons, string musicians, dinner, welcome party with full open bar, gifts for guests, etc. It is true that some things you get with dftw is exclusive but what's important to some people may not be to others. Wish u the best of luck and don't stress. Things will work out