Whitehall room reception- HELP!

[MissCass609]

Ok, so for starters, I am (planning to be) a DFTW Wishes bride in June of 2015. My fiancé and I met with a consultant a few weeks ago, and right now we are just waiting until the date we want is exactly one year away so we can book things. When we had our site visit, our consultant recommended the Whitehall Room at the Grand Floridian as the perfect spot for our reception being as it is a smaller room with a large patio and we are only expecting 30-35 guests. She showed us pictures of the space and I fell in love with the French doors, octagon shaped room, and MK views, but I did not get to see the space in person. My concern is that, while the capacity of the room is up to 50 guests, that we'll be a bit crammed since we're planning on having a buffet, DJ and a dance floor. And while there is a very large patio that could comfortably fit all of our guests and then some, being as it will be June in Orlando, I can't very well have the dinner or the dance floor outside. I want to book our reception space as soon as possible so that we don't lose it, however I wish I could see it first but since I live in PA and won't be back in WDW until our formal planning session in January, I don't know what to do. So, if anyone has held or attended a wedding reception at the Whitehall room and can give me some insight into their experience (how many guests? Buffet or played dinner? Dance floor?) as well as advice, I'd really appreciate it!

 

[justlook3]

My vow renewal reception was at the White Hall Room but we only had 12 people (back in the days when if you were willing to pay DFW didn't care). I attended another wedding there with about 25 guests. It was in October though so they had the buffet set up outside on the patio and the tables including a DJ and dance floor inside. There was plenty of room with that situation. I did have my cocktail hour on the patio and it was early May. The patio is covered and Disney obviously is a whiz at keeping food safe in high temps. The larger wedding had three tables around the dance floor plus a sweetheart table for the bride and groom. The DJ and dance floor were inside. We just went outside for the bar and the buffet (she also had a caricature artist who set up outside).

 

[MissCass609]

My vow renewal reception was at the White Hall Room but we only had 12 people (back in the days when if you were willing to pay DFW didn't care). I attended another wedding there with about 25 guests. It was in October though so they had the buffet set up outside on the patio and the tables including a DJ and dance floor inside. There was plenty of room with that situation. I did have my cocktail hour on the patio and it was early May. The patio is covered and Disney obviously is a whiz at keeping food safe in high temps. The larger wedding had three tables around the dance floor plus a sweetheart table for the bride and groom. The DJ and dance floor were inside. We just went outside for the bar and the buffet (she also had a caricature artist who set up outside).

Hmm...I like the idea of having the cocktail hour and then the buffet and bar outside and then just the tables and dance floor inside. That would save so much room! You didn't feel inconvenienced having to walk outside for your food? I mean from the pictures I saw, the doors lead out to a covered portion of patio which is where I'd put the buffet so that wouldn't be a long walk at all so everyone should be okay with that. Plus it'd get people to move around a bit and socialize. Thanks!

 

[justlook3]

You didn't feel inconvenienced having to walk outside for your food? I mean from the pictures I saw, the doors lead out to a covered portion of patio which is where I'd put the buffet so that wouldn't be a long walk at all so everyone should be okay with that.

Not at all. It's exactly as you describe it, the doors open up to the patio and it's as if you were walking to the other side of a bigger ballroom. Probably less of a walk actually considering how big some of those ballrooms are! I attended an event (not a wedding) in one of those big ballrooms at the GF and it was much farther to where the bar was then the walk out to the patio. The Whitehall room is a lovely location. The one drawback is that the restrooms are not very close by.
It's very Disney despite being essentially a hotel ballroom (though a little one). Like you said the shape, the doors and the view. When we had ours a hurricane the previous fall had knocked down some trees so we had a clear view of the Castle. I'm sure in the 9 years since the trees have grown but still. And the monorail is above you! You'd think that would be a drawback but it's total

 

[MissCass609]

Not at all. It's exactly as you describe it, the doors open up to the patio and it's as if you were walking to the other side of a bigger ballroom. Probably less of a walk actually considering how big some of those ballrooms are! I attended an event (not a wedding) in one of those big ballrooms at the GF and it was much farther to where the bar was then the walk out to the patio. The Whitehall room is a lovely location. The one drawback is that the restrooms are not very close by. It's very Disney despite being essentially a hotel ballroom (though a little one). Like you said the shape, the doors and the view. When we had ours a hurricane the previous fall had knocked down some trees so we had a clear view of the Castle. I'm sure in the 9 years since the trees have grown but still. And the monorail is above you! You'd think that would be a drawback but it's total

I love the fact that the monorail is right there! I've always loved the monorail since I was a little girl so it's perfect. Thanks again for all your help, I really appreciate it! I think we're going to go ahead and book the Whitehall room!

 

[OrlandoDJChuck]

You can see tons of pictures from receptions in the Whitehall room here. (There's about six pages worth of photos).

Typically the pre-reception cocktail hour is on the patio, the buffet and bar is set in the hallway, and the dinner/dance/DJ is in the main room.

Hope this helps!

 

[MissCass609]

Typically the pre-reception cocktail hour is on the patio, the buffet and bar is set in the hallway, and the dinner/dance/DJ is in the main room. Hope this helps!

The pics make me want to book the Whitehall Room even more! It looks absolutely perfect. If you don't mind me asking, have you DJ'd at a reception with 30-35 people or more? And if so was there enough room on the dance floor for everyone to dance comfortably? That's my biggest concern. At every event where there's a dance floor, my family is usually the ones closing it down, so music and dancing is gonna be a important part of my reception. I just don't want anyone to feel like sardines on the dance floor or stop dancing because there's not enough room.

 

[BecBennett]

If the buffet is set up in the hallway then there will be plenty of room for all your guests to get their groove on

We had 40 guests and had plenty of room

 

[MissCass609]

If the buffet is set up in the hallway then there will be plenty of room for all your guests to get their groove on We had 40 guests and had plenty of room

Perfect! I think will definitely be setting the buffet outside. Thanks for responding- it was a big help since your guest count is so close to ours!!

 

[DisneyFairy19]

Hello!
Congratualtions on planning your wedding.
My cocktail hour was in the Whitehall Room Recpetion as well the patio was open as well. We had about 125 ppl at the wedding. so everyone was there during cocktail hour. It didnt feel crammed for our guest.
photos below!!!

 

[MissCass609]

Hello! Congratualtions on planning your wedding. My cocktail hour was in the Whitehall Room Recpetion as well the patio was open as well. We had about 125 ppl at the wedding. so everyone was there during cocktail hour. It didnt feel crammed for our guest. photos below!!!

Awesome! If 125 people were comfortable, then I'm sure our 45 (the number increased from 35 just this past weekend) will be good as gold. If you don't mind me asking, during what month was your wedding held? I am trying to gauge how much the covered portion of the patio with the ceiling fans helps with eliminating some of the Orlando heat in June.
Thanks for the help and the pictures. From what I saw your cocktail hour alone looked amazing

 

[DisneyFairy19]

Awesome! If 125 people were comfortable, then I'm sure our 45 (the number increased from 35 just this past weekend) will be good as gold. If you don't mind me asking, during what month was your wedding held? I am trying to gauge how much the covered portion of the patio with the ceiling fans helps with eliminating some of the Orlando heat in June.
Thanks for the help and the pictures. From what I saw your cocktail hour alone looked amazing

MissCass we got married on October and it was a very hot day! but guests had the options to sit inside but the weather was cooling by 6pm during cocktail that you can see the majority of everyone was outside!!!

 

[MissCass609]

MissCass we got married on October and it was a very hot day! but guests had the options to sit inside but the weather was cooling by 6pm during cocktail that you can see the majority of everyone was outside!!!

If you don't mind me asking, how many people were at your reception?

 

[DisneyFairy19]

If you don't mind me asking, how many people were at your reception?

Everyone that was at cocktail hour was at our reception. About 125 ppl!!!