Why I decided against a Disney Wedding

[connorlevismom]

I am sorry that you had such a bad experience, we are having the exact opposite.

I think what stands out for me with this thread is that you don't really want a big wedding, you don't really want to spend a lot of money. But your angry that Disney costs a lot of money and it sounds to me like you don't really want to do it anyway so you are kind of making excuses as to why your not having it. I get the communication issue, but I don't blame them for not spending a ton of time with people who want to go through the whole planning process, get the budget and then say forget it. That is why they don't do all that stuff until you pay the deposit. It is a waste of their time to plan a wedding that might not happen.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but you keep mentioning that you don't want to spend money and you just want to do a JOP wedding.

 

[Emimy]

I keep telling my FH this is NOT my FAIRY TALE Wedding at all. I've never been in tears as much as this wedding is causing. FH is actually the one who linked me this post and said I would like it. We've discussed creating a blog to give another perspective of Disney's not so fairy tale weddings. I just wish brides were given the other side of the story.

We thought answers would get better once the money was in hand, but the person who we signed the contract was significantly better than our wedding planner IMO.

I am constantly given vague answers and the responses come across as if answering my question is a bother. Perhaps since I'm an Escape bride I'm not worthy of Disney hospitality? Heck I get more kindness and respect from the people answering the phones to take ADRs. Something is not right.

Wedding planners are there to help LESSEN stress mine only seems to create more. She really rubs me the wrong way.

The constantly changing policies also are a peeve of mine. Disney's Wedding department seems to make up rules as they go along. What is fine for one bride to do, the next is not allowed. And then I am constantly told the policy has changed. Really? because the person I got the idea from spoke to their WC yesterday and their wedding is AFTER mine!?!

Then lately we have had issues with prices. For instance, we asked about floral on our cake, real vs. sugar flowers. First message we got the fresh floral was $60 and no mention of sugar. Again we asked the same question. The next email we got the sugar couldn't be complete the way we wanted it and the fresh was $90. If it rose $30 in a matter of days. Who knows what it will be by our wedding considering the rate of increase. I obviously will be questioning the sudden increase in price, but I shouldn't have to IMO.

And I wish when I asked for options I wouldn't be given ONE thing, which always happens to be the most expensive. Then I ask about other things I've seen on here and they are either A) less expensive option that wasn't offered prior to asking or B) Policy has changed.

God I could go on and on with my frustrations with Disney Wedding.

Even after we signed our Escape contract we were considering upgrading to a Wishes package because we thought things were going to get so much better, but my wedding planner wiped any hope from our minds. I hope Disney recognizes this attitude some of the wedding planners have when responding to questions is turning people off. 10 Escape brides is $47,500 minimum not including the room, food, guest++ they bring to Disney. Those same brides turning away from a Wishes wedding are $125,000+++ So the numbers do add up fast.

Many days I regret doing Disney, but I am always wondering if I'm just unlucky. I wish other brides would share the good AND bad they experience. My FH says most brides just accept it because it's Disney and their wedding and magical Well I for one am not going to just throw on my rose colored glasses. I have always been peeved by inequality and injustices. Disney Wedding having different rules and prices for each bride is not fair and we should not have to accept it.

Thank you for being brave enough to start this post and sorry for my venting.

BTW: We have Carrie's book, and I've read it over and over. If Disney sent me a PDF like this with everything laid out and clear then they would make a heck of a lot more money off me. Of course there are somethings that would still fall out of the norm, but that would not be the majority like it seems to be now. Carrie why not go and run Disney's Wedding department? They clearly need you.

Oh my goodness, I actually feel like I could have written this post myself! I've had exactly the same feelings planning our DFTW. I thought I was just unlucky or perhaps it was because I am "only" and Escape bride too... I hope things get better for you! Whether my opinion is "right" or "wrong" I can't help how DFTW's have made me feel, and I feel as though my whole planning process has been anything but enjoyable.

To the OP, I hope things work out well for you. And thank you for having the courage to post that here, although it's a horrible situation it's helped to know I'm not the only one having constant struggles with them.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

ConnorLevisMom,

You are absolutely right that I don't want to spend a lot of money. If it were entirely up to me, I would have done JOP without a second thought. My fiancé is the one that wants a big wedding.

However, while I am not pleased with DFTW, I am not angry that it costs a lot of money. I understand that everything Disney is expensive and I knew going into this we would be spending a lot more, but usually there is a lot of value provided in their services.

As far as me "making excuses", the reasons I have listed are valid complaints, I am glad that you haven't experienced those issues, but that doesn't mean that I didn't.

I have dealt with many different venues and they have all been very up front about the costs.

If Disney was more transparent with their costs, they wouldn't need to spend a lot of time with each person. People could do their own research and decide on their own.

And don't worry, you don’t sound harsh, you just sound privileged.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

Oh my goodness, I actually feel like I could have written this post myself! I've had exactly the same feelings planning our DFTW. I thought I was just unlucky or perhaps it was because I am "only" and Escape bride too... I hope things get better for you! Whether my opinion is "right" or "wrong" I can't help how DFTW's have made me feel, and I feel as though my whole planning process has been anything but enjoyable.

To the OP, I hope things work out well for you. And thank you for having the courage to post that here, although it's a horrible situation it's helped to know I'm not the only one having constant struggles with them.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one. And I don't think it's an Escape bride thing, I was doing wishes. I think that if you have any reservations about prices, they just aren't that interested in you.

I'm sure your wedding will be beautiful no matter what.

Remember, at the end of the day you are marrying your best friend, the rest is just icing on the cake. (Which is a phrase I never understood as the icing is clearly the best part. )

So, I guess the rest is just cake under the icing.

 

[fireofmarajade]

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.

I had my planning session at the end of march and haven't gotten the exact number back yet.

I asked the planner about how staunch the $100 pp was though and she ASSURED me that it would NOT come back that high!

check out virtuous girl's brunch menu that is at $68 i think...
She laid out all the numbers that came back...

#s and answers get REAL AFTER you put down the money. Prior to that it is hard to really get answers bc $s change with every choice you make.

I suggest that you show disney how serious you are by scheduling a planning session first.
That is what i did in DEC while i was there.
$ deposit was given in Feb after looking into prices and using Passporter's guide to weddings to really decide if it was right for us!

Wish you the best, no matter what you choose, just don't rule out Disney until you are sure it is okay you get married somewhere else.

 

[Sarah84]

I don't blame you for not booking a DFTW, we spent a year dreaming of the day we could finally call up and get pencilled in and offcially make contact, find out more info etc and it was one disappointment after another, and then there was the fact they made me feel like the $9000 or so I was planning on spending on my Escape wedding was just not good enough, had I have been a Wishes bride I expect I would have got more 'help' and better service out of them and not made to feel like my money and wedding just wasn't important.
I ended up booking Cypress Grove and my planner has been amazing and not to mention the HUGE amount of money I've saved by booking with her rather than a DFTW.

I can't say I blame you. For me it was the blatant lack of caring that Disney seems to have towards the brides. They don't return calls in a timely manner, make brides jump through hoops to have their questions answered and then think nothing of cancelling photo shoots and making changes at the last minute. The hush-hush attitude about the construction next to the WP and failure to warn brides who were spending thousands of dollars was just plain mean. Then there are the brides who end up with horrible services from Disney's vendors and Disney ignores the compaints. I really feel like Disney needs to step up their service when it comes to their "fairytale weddings". I understand that many brides do have wonderful weddings but lately that seems to be rare and it makes me sad that Disney doesn't seem to care. While I'm still slightly sad about not being able to have a MK shoot I am happy to have gone with the Swan/Dolphin over DFTW.

This is exactly how I felt, we're a month away from our wedding and I'm feeling sad again that we can't do the MK shoot but I'm so pleased I took my money elsewhere.
The service, bad communication, the risk of having the MK shoot cancelled, having to wait till 30days out to know if I could use the reception spaces I preferred was not making me want to give them my money.

 

[connorlevismom]

ConnorLevisMom,

You are absolutely right that I don't want to spend a lot of money. If it were entirely up to me, I would have done JOP without a second thought. My fiancé is the one that wants a big wedding.

However, while I am not pleased with DFTW, I am not angry that it costs a lot of money. I understand that everything Disney is expensive and I knew going into this we would be spending a lot more, but usually there is a lot of value provided in their services.

As far as me "making excuses", the reasons I have listed are valid complaints, I am glad that you haven't experienced those issues, but that doesn't mean that I didn't.

I have dealt with many different venues and they have all been very up front about the costs.

If Disney was more transparent with their costs, they wouldn't need to spend a lot of time with each person. People could do their own research and decide on their own.

And don't worry, you don’t sound harsh, you just sound privileged.

What were you looking for in terms of prices of things? You said that you could not get answers on the cost of things but I am not sure you said the exact things that you could not get answers on. I got most of my pricing information here on the DIS before I even made the call to DFTW. So I had an idea of what most things would cost with the exception of food and decor since those things are so custom. But as far as minimums, venue fees and rules I found all of that here.

I am not privileged, however I do have realistic expectations. I have also been married for 11 years so my events are more vow renewal related. This makes me less worried about a lot of the stuff that most brides have to worry about.

I am not saying that these things did not happen to you or that you don't have valid reasons to be upset. Clearly what you experienced is not a one time thing since other people have said the same thing happened to them.

 

[taaren]

OP - for exactly the reasons that you stated + 1 more we also decided against a DFTW in Disneyland (in 2009 for a 2010 wedding). Over there if you wanted to have a small wedding (ours was going to be ~50 people) you could get a small ballroom for the reception, it looked like what it was - a generic conference space. If you wanted the beautiful spaces in the hotel for your reception, you had to have a minimum of 80 people, at a minimum of $80/head for food and beverage at the time. That just felt like highway robbery to us.

To be fair many of the other wedding sites we looked at in California also had the extravagant minimums, though none were as high as Disney. We ended up having a very nice small ceremony which our best friend performed, followed by a party (not reception) at the DLH where we rented a room in Steakhouse 55 and ordered a Disney wedding cake, just ordered brunch off the regular menu, and our bill was under $700 for 20+ people. We then took the funds we'd allotted for our wedding and bought into DVC, but feel that it was a much better use of those funds since we get to enjoy luxury accommodations for the price of our maintenance fees for the next half century.

Its nice to know there are other people who looked at the pricing scheme, and just said, its too much for what one gets. I love Disney travel, and think in some ways it has great value, and there are strategies to getting more bang for limited resources that are better than the DFTW. Which is not to disparage those who made the choice to have a FTW, as that is something which is worth the value of what they charge you, then enjoy and best wishes for happy marriages to all of you.

 

[giffy231]

What were you looking for in terms of prices of things? You said that you could not get answers on the cost of things but I am not sure you said the exact things that you could not get answers on. I got most of my pricing information here on the DIS before I even made the call to DFTW. So I had an idea of what most things would cost with the exception of food and decor since those things are so custom. But as far as minimums, venue fees and rules I found all of that here.

I am not privileged, however I do have realistic expectations. I have also been married for 11 years so my events are more vow renewal related. This makes me less worried about a lot of the stuff that most brides have to worry about.

I am not saying that these things did not happen to you or that you don't have valid reasons to be upset. Clearly what you experienced is not a one time thing since other people have said the same thing happened to them.

Let me speak about my experience. I was planning a Memories Collection wedding for this May. I was calling in January and February. Employee after employee kept giving me incorrect pricing, since the package was changing in April. Someone on the Disboard informed me the package was changing and going to cost more, and the very location we had chosen was not going to be available (I'd say that is a big deal) and not ONE employee could tell me the changes in price or locations. I kept calling and calling with the info I got on the boards and no one there could confirm or deny it. Turns out the disboards info was correct, the 10 or so employees I spoke to were all incorrect. That means that at the last minute, or a month before my wedding, I'd have been surprised with a $500 increase and not been able to use the location we had wanted, which was where we were engaged and the whole point of choosing the memories package.

 

[giffy231]

I don't blame you for not booking a DFTW, we spent a year dreaming of the day we could finally call up and get pencilled in and offcially make contact, find out more info etc and it was one disappointment after another, and then there was the fact they made me feel like the $9000 or so I was planning on spending on my Escape wedding was just not good enough, had I have been a Wishes bride I expect I would have got more 'help' and better service out of them and not made to feel like my money and wedding just wasn't important.
I ended up booking Cypress Grove and my planner has been amazing and not to mention the HUGE amount of money I've saved by booking with her rather than a DFTW.



This is exactly how I felt, we're a month away from our wedding and I'm feeling sad again that we can't do the MK shoot but I'm so pleased I took my money elsewhere.
The service, bad communication, the risk of having the MK shoot cancelled, having to wait till 30days out to know if I could use the reception spaces I preferred was not making me want to give them my money.

I felt the same way, like because we wanted a small wedding, we were not worth being helped. They wanted us to just show up and not ask any questions.

And FYI we also went with Cypress Grove and they have been much better to deal with! I am also sad about the MK shoot, but well, for what you pay for it, they can't even guarantee you good shots or guarantee you will be able to book it during your stay. I can't beleive some people fly back and have all the added expense of hair, makeup, hotel, etc to do it. I understand why they do go through that if they can't do it on thei wedding week, but it seems so unfair to have to go thorugh all of that.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

I wholeheartedly sympathize with all the girls with negative experiences of DFTW. I bailed out at a very early stage, so I have no experience of talking to planners and have only got my views from other brides, but I must say that not a day goes by when I am not so glad I went with S/D.
I do sometimes think that brides defend DFTW out of a sense of loyalty. I am sure that a lot of brides are completely happy with the service they received from DFTW, and I am so happy for them. Others, I fear, do not always see the difficulties, as they are just so happy to be having their day at WDW.
Whilst I am sure there are many who have very few problems with DFTW, I think there may also be many who do have problems, but out of Disney loyalty, do not acknowledge this.
It is a shame for the girls who do have problems, but I guess no wedding is without it's stresses!!! Each bride must weigh up what is best for her, and change her direction if things are becoming too difficult. That is what I did, and have no regrets at all!!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

I think that it is good of you to share your opinions and experiences here, but people should be aware that this is not true for everyone. We priced out both Disney and an at home wedding and Disney was actually a lot cheaper. And while it is very expensive, I think that the quality of service that DFTW provides is above and beyond what you get at a regular wedding. My wedding day went so smoothly, I didn't have to worry about a thing, and that is worth paying for in my opinion. Our wedding was also small and quite close to the minimum expenditures, but I still felt like we got all of the attention and good treatment that other brides did. I'm sorry DFTW is not for you and wish you the best with whatever you decide.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

What were you looking for in terms of prices of things? You said that you could not get answers on the cost of things but I am not sure you said the exact things that you could not get answers on. I got most of my pricing information here on the DIS before I even made the call to DFTW. So I had an idea of what most things would cost with the exception of food and decor since those things are so custom. But as far as minimums, venue fees and rules I found all of that here.

I am not privileged, however I do have realistic expectations. I have also been married for 11 years so my events are more vow renewal related. This makes me less worried about a lot of the stuff that most brides have to worry about.

I am not saying that these things did not happen to you or that you don't have valid reasons to be upset. Clearly what you experienced is not a one time thing since other people have said the same thing happened to them.

I couldn't get prices on menu items, various venues, flowers, and other extras. I didn't do a lot of research, but I didn't expect that Disney would be so difficult to work with. I thought that I would be able to get most of my information straight from the source.

Also, maybe you didn't say that these things didn't happen or that I don't have a valid reason to be upset, but you did say:

"I think what stands out for me with this thread is that you don't really want a big wedding, you don't really want to spend a lot of money. But your angry that Disney costs a lot of money and it sounds to me like you don't really want to do it anyway so you are kind of making excuses as to why your not having it. I get the communication issue, but I don't blame them for not spending a ton of time with people who want to go through the whole planning process, get the budget and then say forget it. That is why they don't do all that stuff until you pay the deposit. It is a waste of their time to plan a wedding that might not happen."

Which to me reads like you think I'm exaggerating or outright lying and that asking Disney questions is a waste of their time.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

OP - for exactly the reasons that you stated + 1 more we also decided against a DFTW in Disneyland (in 2009 for a 2010 wedding). Over there if you wanted to have a small wedding (ours was going to be ~50 people) you could get a small ballroom for the reception, it looked like what it was - a generic conference space. If you wanted the beautiful spaces in the hotel for your reception, you had to have a minimum of 80 people, at a minimum of $80/head for food and beverage at the time. That just felt like highway robbery to us.

To be fair many of the other wedding sites we looked at in California also had the extravagant minimums, though none were as high as Disney. We ended up having a very nice small ceremony which our best friend performed, followed by a party (not reception) at the DLH where we rented a room in Steakhouse 55 and ordered a Disney wedding cake, just ordered brunch off the regular menu, and our bill was under $700 for 20+ people. We then took the funds we'd allotted for our wedding and bought into DVC, but feel that it was a much better use of those funds since we get to enjoy luxury accommodations for the price of our maintenance fees for the next half century.

Its nice to know there are other people who looked at the pricing scheme, and just said, its too much for what one gets. I love Disney travel, and think in some ways it has great value, and there are strategies to getting more bang for limited resources that are better than the DFTW. Which is not to disparage those who made the choice to have a FTW, as that is something which is worth the value of what they charge you, then enjoy and best wishes for happy marriages to all of you.

We considered DVC, but at this point we would be better served putting the money toward a house. Maybe late on we will join though. I'm sure my irritation with Disney will fade. Our January trip was probably the most fun I've ever had.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

I think that it is good of you to share your opinions and experiences here, but people should be aware that this is not true for everyone. We priced out both Disney and an at home wedding and Disney was actually a lot cheaper. And while it is very expensive, I think that the quality of service that DFTW provides is above and beyond what you get at a regular wedding. My wedding day went so smoothly, I didn't have to worry about a thing, and that is worth paying for in my opinion. Our wedding was also small and quite close to the minimum expenditures, but I still felt like we got all of the attention and good treatment that other brides did. I'm sorry DFTW is not for you and wish you the best with whatever you decide.

Oh definitely, some people have had great experiences. The WC I was working with actually had pretty good reviews. I was really surprised by the low level of service.

I'm glad that your wedding was wonderful! I also agree that not having to worry is worth paying for, unfortunately I had extra worries. I think everyone has a different experience.

 

[connorlevismom]

I couldn't get prices on menu items, various venues, flowers, and other extras. I didn't do a lot of research, but I didn't expect that Disney would be so difficult to work with. I thought that I would be able to get most of my information straight from the source.

Also, maybe you didn't say that these things didn't happen or that I don't have a valid reason to be upset, but you did say:

"I think what stands out for me with this thread is that you don't really want a big wedding, you don't really want to spend a lot of money. But your angry that Disney costs a lot of money and it sounds to me like you don't really want to do it anyway so you are kind of making excuses as to why your not having it. I get the communication issue, but I don't blame them for not spending a ton of time with people who want to go through the whole planning process, get the budget and then say forget it. That is why they don't do all that stuff until you pay the deposit. It is a waste of their time to plan a wedding that might not happen."

Which to me reads like you think I'm exaggerating or outright lying and that asking Disney questions is a waste of their time.

Those are things that you cannot get a price for until you are sitting down and planning your wedding. All those things are custom items and the prices depends on a lot of things. Nobody's menu or floral are the same, so it is almost impossible to give prices on those items.

The venues - I am not sure why they could not give you prices unless it is because the prices changes year to year so it would be hard to be accurate. I was able to get those things from the woman who did the site visit with us and worked with us until we put our deposit down. She could give me ideas on menu's and stuff like that but no actual prices for those things.

I am not trying to defend them, I have had some frustrations with them as well, but overall I have been very happy. Again, I am sorry that you were not and that it made you want to go elsewhere.

What you said is that you wanted to know exactly how much you were going to spend before you put a deposit down. That is just not something they can do because everything is so custom. It is not like a banquet hall where you pay this much for the venue fee and you get to pick between 4 meals and they cost this amount. It is much more involved than that and so your expectations that they should be able to do that are not realistic.

 

[connorlevismom]

Let me speak about my experience. I was planning a Memories Collection wedding for this May. I was calling in January and February. Employee after employee kept giving me incorrect pricing, since the package was changing in April. Someone on the Disboard informed me the package was changing and going to cost more, and the very location we had chosen was not going to be available (I'd say that is a big deal) and not ONE employee could tell me the changes in price or locations. I kept calling and calling with the info I got on the boards and no one there could confirm or deny it. Turns out the disboards info was correct, the 10 or so employees I spoke to were all incorrect. That means that at the last minute, or a month before my wedding, I'd have been surprised with a $500 increase and not been able to use the location we had wanted, which was where we were engaged and the whole point of choosing the memories package.

That would be really frustrating and I don't blame you for being irritated. I don't know why they did not know that information. And if the venue had that kind of a meaning , I would be really mad if I got switched at the last minute.

It seems sometimes like they are the last people to know about these things. I have had a couple things like that happen and it truly seemed like they had no idea when I brought things up, I did not feel like they were trying to dupe me or were hiding something.

 

[PinkSleepingBeauty]

OP, I'm really sorry it never worked out for you. I think the inconsistency (hope thats the right spelling, lol) is such a shame.

I must have been lucky as our day went like a dream and we had great service from all areas, right from the start. We really couldn't have asked for more. And then you have my friend, who had a Disney Wedding a couple of years previous to me, and she seemed to have pretty much the same experience as you. I think it's a real shame. Best of luck, I hope everything works out for you

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I can see so many sides to this. Honestly, I always thought I'd have a WDW wedding (and most of my family assumed I would, too).

I've been engaged before and started to price out and plan a WDW (at the time it was 2006) and, at that time, money was keeping me from planning a WDW wedding (my parents don't believe in weddings more than $1,000 so they definitely don't agree in funding them) and I was certainly far from being able to afford the wedding I would want at WDW (nothing lavish, more so just being able to have everyone there, more people=more money).

Now that I'm older(30) and my now fiance and I are financially stable, I tend to look for the best value in things. Granted, the wedding industry is so marked up its crazy, but that still doesn't mean I'm going to shell out a ton of money for things just because that's the way it is.

I have priced out every option at WDW, surrounding amusement parks, every garden/chapel/beach/shanty/gazebo in the Orlando area, and I really looked at each dollar that was being spent and if it's worth it. Worthiness, of course, is always relative.

My dream wedding at WDW would be impossible to have (since I want it to be in crazy areas ) or very expensive. While money is certainly not the issue now, is the value of it worth it to me? For some people it is.

From what I read here on the DIS boards, especially the chaos surrounding the WP construction (which I wouldn't want to use, but how Disney was letting people know days before their wedding [or in some cases not letting them know at all]), it really rubs me the wrong way. There seems to be a lot of disorganization and miscommunication, which is understandable sometimes, but not on such a frequent basis.

Even Carrie's wedding PJ, which I still read frequently, irritated me with the amount of pushback she was receiving from every question she asked her WP. From what I read on here and the wedding PJ's, it seems like the first answer to even the simplest question is always "no" and then depending on how hard you pursue it or the WP you have, depends on if that answer changes or not. Some people, it seems, are blessed with great WP's who work with them or even if they say "no" they offer alternatives or work to try and find a solution. I'm not saying that every bride should just get what they want because they're the customer, but it appears to be they don't even want to work with you to find a solution sometimes. Like I said, this is not always the case and I have read wonderful things about certain WP's, but there doesn't seem to be any consistency. It seems like a real crapshoot.

Of course, wedding planning anywhere can be a crapshoot, but not all of us would have $10-30k weddings at home either. Some people would only be paying that money BECAUSE they want to get married at WDW.

With all of that being said, between the inconsistencies, the minimums and maximums for everything (you can't have this location unless you have X amount of people, you can't have that package unless you have X amount of people), the room block guarantees, etc., the value isn't there for me anymore. I still love Disney and visiting the Disney parks and I am so glad that they even offer wedding services to couples who want to get married there.

 

[FizzingWhizzbee]

Those are things that you cannot get a price for until you are sitting down and planning your wedding. All those things are custom items and the prices depends on a lot of things. Nobody's menu or floral are the same, so it is almost impossible to give prices on those items.

The venues - I am not sure why they could not give you prices unless it is because the prices changes year to year so it would be hard to be accurate. I was able to get those things from the woman who did the site visit with us and worked with us until we put our deposit down. She could give me ideas on menu's and stuff like that but no actual prices for those things.

I am not trying to defend them, I have had some frustrations with them as well, but overall I have been very happy. Again, I am sorry that you were not and that it made you want to go elsewhere.

What you said is that you wanted to know exactly how much you were going to spend before you put a deposit down. That is just not something they can do because everything is so custom. It is not like a banquet hall where you pay this much for the venue fee and you get to pick between 4 meals and they cost this amount. It is much more involved than that and so your expectations that they should be able to do that are not realistic.

I don't recall saying that I wanted to know exactly how much I was going to spend before I put down a deposit.

What I wanted was to have more information. Which menu options are available, not just 3 generic options? Which sort of flowers and how much are prices?

It isn't impossible to give prices because they obviously charge for it.

Disney wasn't willing to put time into planning my wedding and I wanted to know what it was going to look like before I put down a deposit. If putting together a proposal was too much to ask for before I spent 20,000 dollars on a wedding, then I will happily take my money elsewhere.

I cannot think of a situation where I would put down a non-refundable deposit on something without having information on future costs and expectations.

I'm glad that other people have had good experiences. I am disappointed that it didn't work out, I was very excited. But I am not okay with being taken advantaged of because I wanted a "magical" wedding.

It seems to me that DFTW is taking advantage of commitment bias, and I just wanted to let others know to be aware. Even if no one else had this experience, it never hurts to be cautious.