UK Brides - How did you book?

[MouseJen]

Hello,

I'm brand new to this forum, and so grateful I found it!

We are from the UK and are planning an Escape wedding for May 2017 (I'm a typical Type A so booking with only 9/8 months to go scares the living daylights out of me!) I was just wondering how other UK couples booked.

I wasn't sure if I should be booking directly with Disney (we want to add on an Epcot desert party) or through a travel agent so that it would allow our guests to book with them too.

Does anyone know if it will make a difference?

Any help that you can give me would be great.

 

[Holstar]

Hello!

We've not booked yet... we're either going to be March or October '18, so we're even further off

I know you *can* book with travel agents, but they just then liaise with Disney which seems to over complicate matters when you can do it yourself. You will certainly not save money going through a travel agent for the wedding itself, and I very much fall on the side of it's better to deal with them directly than to muddy the waters any more!

We had a bit of a panic too about booking so close to the date... especially considering our locations over here which we initially viewed were booked up two to three years in advance! But, you need to have a much more relaxed attitude towards it if you're going to do down this route.

This is your first step http://www.passporter.com/disney-weddings-honeymoons.php - it has helped me (and most likely most of us) immensely, and will almost definitely answer the vast majority of your questions!

We're letting our families know in March that we'll be tying the knot at WDW, which is super exciting! It'll give them two-ish years to save, but we've accepted that we may need to subsidise travel for quite a few. We're looking at 30-37 people we know will definitely be there, but will be inviting around 70-80.

xx

 

[LeeDonald]

Hi! Welcome and congratulations!

We are booking from the UK too. Firstly, have to agree with Holstar about the Passporter Disney Weddings and Honeymoons book! Worth it's weight in gold! It's super useful!

We have booked our trip with Virgin Holidays and will be booking our Escape wedding direct with Disney in October. It seems better to do this direct for us as it will cause less complication.

Good luck!

 

[MouseJen]

Thanks for the advice. Downloading the Passporters book as we speak.

I thought going though Disney would be the way to go. My initial thought was the guests might find it easier if we were using a travel agent (probably Thomson due to the direct flights out of Newcastle) but I have a feeling some of them might build their own holiday using a villa rental.

How exciting for you both!!!! I can't get over the amount of support there seems to be out there in the DisBride community.

Very excited to see everyone's plans for their big days xx

 

[VikkiLilyBee]

Your guests can still use a set travel agent if you want them too. Personally I'm letting my guests book however the want. I know a couple of our guests will only stay in Orlando for the wedding, and will head elsewhere in America to visit other friends and sites. One of the benefits of having a Disney wedding for me was having one point of contact for the whole planning process. To me, this is even more important when panning from the UK. I personally think going through a travel agent will just muddy the waters, and could create a Chinese whispers problem! I don't want to risk that for our wedding day!!

 

[Jenheartsdisney]

Hi, I'm April 2017 planning 2 full weddings, one at home and a renewal at WDW so the key word for us is budget lol.

You can book a seat block with the big airlines, virgin start giving discounts at 12 in standard class or 8 in premium. AA do a discount too but I didn't really explore with them as it's an indirect flight from Glasgow at that time of year. People basically phone a number with a reference number so it's minimum fuss after you've set it up, people pay their own seats direct with virgin.

I've told family I have 5 hotels to block at WDW or they can do their own thing but expect to be driving or getting buses really early or late to get back to hotels.

Expedia sometimes get good deals so I'm watching out and updating people closer to the time. Some of our guests have said they'll stay on I drive and do disney hotels for 3 or 4 nights

 

[Chilly]

Book direct, although they seem to be improving I have heard a few horror stories of people booking via a TA.