4 months to go!

If you haven't already, this is a good time to:

• Book your hotel reservation in our room block by calling 407-827-6799 between 8 am and 5 pm

• Make your advanced dining reservations

• Sign up to take the free Disney’s Magical Express from the airport by calling (407) WDW-MAGIC

• Buy tickets to Disney Christmas events you want to attend, such as Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party and the Candlelight Processional at Epcot

• Buy your park tickets online at the discounted rate (email me for the best rates).

• Book your flight if you are flying. Southwest is still having a sale and we have a discount code for American Airlines. 

A Grand place to stay

For the ultimate experience, guests at our wedding can also stay at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Most of the wedding weekend events will be held at or around this resort.

This Victorian-style deluxe resort has wonderful views of The Magic Kingdom and Seven Seas Lagoon. Guests can take the monorail or a boat over to the park directly from the resort. The lobby is spectacular, with live music and a wonderful tea room. In December, the hotel will be decorated for Christmas, with a large Christmas tree and other surprises that make it a perfect place to celebrate the season.

Guests can take advantage of the beach and beach pool, with water slide. They also have preferred access to 5 championship Walt Disney World golf courses.

Guests can send their children on Disney’s Pirate Adventure cruise. Call (407) 939-3463 for more details on that adventure. Or, for those more interested in crumpets than pirates, they offer the Wonderland Tea Party.

The resort has numerous amenities, including the Ivy Trellis Salon and the Grand Floridian Health Club. There is a business center available from 7 am to 5 pm in the convention center.

It also hosts some of the best dining at Walt Disney World. At 1900 Park Fare, guests can enjoy a buffet breakfast with Mary Poppins, lunch with Alice and her friends from Wonderland, or dinner with Cinderella and her family. Narcoossee’s offers delicious seafood with a view of the Magic Kingdom. And when it’s time for the fireworks, they turn down the lights and play the same music that is playing in the park!

On the patio outside of Narcoossee's. 

  

For a more casual dining experience, try the Grand Floridian Café. We ate there on our planning trip and the food was great. I especially recommend the chicken with risotto and the dessert sampler. =)

And for foodies looking for an extra special dining experience, consider Victorian & Albert’s, winner of the AAA Five Diamond award. Guests indulge in a 2 to 2.5 hour meal that includes 6 courses.

As always, transportation is provides to all of the Disney parks. 

Our discounted rate here is $382.50/night including tax. They charge $25 extra per person per night for more than 2 adults per room. Theme park view rooms are available for an extra fee. I recommend booking soon if you want to stay here for the wedding, as the rooms will fill up quickly. Just call 407-827-6799 and tell them you are attending our wedding to book with our rate. Let me know if you have any questions.

A Royal Stay at Port Orleans

Another fun hotel in our room block is Port Orleans - Riverside. My mum, Brian, and I stayed there last month when we visited Disney for our planning session. Most of the rooms have been recently renovated and so has the lobby. This is a great option if you want something a bit fancier than All Star Movies with a moderate price tag. 

This is where Disney's Magical Express drops you off. To the right is the lobby.

The resort is lush and set on the Sassagoula river. The atmosphere is peaceful and relaxing, with lots of landscaping around the buildings. The resort is split into two sections, the rustic Alligator Bayou which has rooms that can comfortably sleep a family of 5, and Magnolia Bend which has a mansion feel. Everyone here was very friendly and the woman at the front desk even went to search out "Engaged" buttons for us. If you need something while staying here, just ask. 

We stayed in one of the Magnolia Bend buildings in a Royal Guest room. It was full of Disney details and made our stay quite magical. I recommend upgrading to one of these rooms if you want feel like a Princess at Port Orleans. We loved the room and they just opened in March, so they are quite clean. These rooms should also be discounted, though they will be more than the standard rooms.

The headboards actually had fireworks animation!

The central pool on Ol’ Man Island includes waterfalls and a water slide. The waterslide was pretty fun, and the pool was large. There are also quiet pools near the buildings, which would be better for lap swimming or a relaxing soak close to your room.  There is a Jacuzzi and a pool bar on Ol’ Man Island. It’s a short walk from most of the buildings, on its own island.

The hotel features both a restaurant (Boatwright’s Dining Hall) and a food court. There are a variety of options at the food court, and you can purchase a refillable mug that you can use for your entire stay there. Boatwright’s takes reservations, so I would recommend making one in advance if you know you want to eat there on your trip. It is only open for dinner. 

You can see the water wheel from the food court dining area.

For more options for shopping and eating, guests can take the boat to Downtown Disney. Brian took the boat and said it was a nice trip with a lot of nice sights. There is free bus transportation to all of the parks (and to the airport with Disney’s Magical Express). It’s also possible to get to most anywhere on property for less than $15 by cab if you are in a hurry. This will be one of the hotels where our buses will pick up guests for the wedding events. 

Guests can indulge in horse-drawn carriage rides around the resort and there are pirate cruises on certain days for children. The Medicine Show Arcade has tons of games and guests can also rent bikes or fishing poles. 

Our rates start at $162.00 including taxes. It is $15 extra per person per night for more than 2 adults in a room. I recommend booking soon if you want to stay here for the wedding, as the rooms will fill up quickly. Just call 407-827-6799 and tell them you are attending our wedding to book with our rate. Let me know if you have any questions. 

5 stars for fun at the All-Star Movies Resort

We have 3 hotels in our room block for the wedding, and the best rate is at the All-Star Movies Resort. It is located at 1991 W. Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 for anyone who is driving there.

Each building is decorated with elements from Disney films, such as Toy Story, Fantasia, The Mighty Ducks, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. There is a 40 foot tall Pongo and a 35 foot tall Perdita. The goalie masks on the walls of the Mighty Ducks building are 31 feet tall.

We are recommending guests who want the best rate to stay in the Mighty Ducks buildings and those who are willing to pay for a preferred location to choose the Dalmatian buildings. There are two pools at the resort, one themed after the Sorcerer’s Apprentice and one right next to the Mighty Ducks building shaped like a hockey rink. Make sure you bring your towels from your room to use at the pool. You can get extra towels by calling housekeeping.

Cinema Hall, the central building, includes the lobby, the World Premiere food court, shopping and an arcade. The arcade is generally open from 7 am to 1 am and the games use tokens that can be purchased there. Some of them give tickets which can be traded for prizes. The food court actually has a ton of options, including 16 inch pizzas ($15), burgers ($7-9), create your own salad ($10), chili ($3), chicken penne alfredo ($11), sandwiches ($9), and more. A lot of those options even come with a side dish included in the price. There are also vegetarian and kosher meals available upon request for under $10.

Guests can get pizza, sandwiches, salads, desserts, and beverages delivered to their rooms as well. The rooms are 20 square feet and have cable tv, wi-fi access (I think there is a fee), hairdryers, and an iron and ironing board. You can have a mini-fridge if you ask for one. Babysitting/childcare is available for a fee. Luggage service runs on an hourly drop-off system.

There are buses to each of the parks and Downtown Disney from the resort. We will also have wedding day transportation pick up at the hotel. The buses pick up in front of Cinema Hall. To see a map of the property, visit: http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmovie.htm There are also a lot of pictures and more details available there. 

TIP: If you are staying in the Mighty Ducks building, Melody Hall (the main building) and the bus stop at the All Star Music Resort are actually closer than the bus stop at the All Star Movies Resort (and they tend to get picked up sooner on the way to the parks). Just follow the walkway North from the building and you should find it. But make sure you don't look for transportation to the wedding there. =)

You can find the rates for all the rooms in our room block, as well as the phone number to call to book on our Disney Wedding website: https://apps.facebook.com/disney-weddings/sites/4647