Forecast Freak Out—Rain Backup?

alexandrapt

Earning My Ears
Joined
Sep 12, 2018
Hi all! I’m getting married at the Poly next Monday (ahh!) and the weather is currently saying rainy AM, possibly rainy PM. How accurate is Florida weather this far out? I’m seriously hoping we don’t have to go from the beautiful Polynesian to a boring ballroom at the contemporary—it’s such a small wedding, I’m afraid. What I’m more worried about though is the firework party at Epcot...do they even have a viewing dessert party backup? Does anyone know? I wish I could ease my own mind!
 
Hi all! I’m getting married at the Poly next Monday (ahh!) and the weather is currently saying rainy AM, possibly rainy PM. How accurate is Florida weather this far out? I’m seriously hoping we don’t have to go from the beautiful Polynesian to a boring ballroom at the contemporary—it’s such a small wedding, I’m afraid. What I’m more worried about though is the firework party at Epcot...do they even have a viewing dessert party backup? Does anyone know? I wish I could ease my own mind!
Florida weather can be unpredictable and change pretty frequently. I would check the day before to get a better idea what the weather will be like. Sometimes even day of the weather can change so it's hard to predict. I hope you have sunny weather
 
I would not worry about it at this point. Ask you planner what time they will make the weather call for each of your events—sometimes they can push it a little later (since they have to decide many hours before) to see what happens.

For your ceremony, ask if you can use Trader Sam's as a rain backup. I've seen them do it in the past (I mean, if you like Trader Sam's!)

For your dessert party, they will move the food into the closest available indoor location (could be Living Seas Salon, Norway Loft, World Showplace... I'd ask about using the Imagination DVC Lounge) but they will escort your group out to one of the private areas—usually the one you reserved, unless it's too far from where your desserts are—to see the actual fireworks, even if it's still raining.
 
I second the notion that Florida weather is unpredictable. I would discuss your fears with your planner and have her tell you what would be your back up location to make sure it's acceptable. You can try to persuade her to change it if it's not. Unfortunately, the back up plan for a dessert party is less than ideal if the fireworks are canceled for any reason. They will move you to an indoor location and WILL NOT give you your money back, even though there's no fireworks. The good news is that the fireworks almost always do go off in the rain. I had originally planned a fireworks party at The Grand Floridian, but nixed it when I found out that we could not cancel the event and get our money back if the fireworks don't go off. They'd have moved us into a ballroom if it rained (which would be undecorated, of course). For that kind of money I didn't want to take the chance that the fireworks wouldn't go off, even though they usually do, just to eat an overpriced dessert in a dark, drab ballroom. But being at Epcot, I'd wager your indoor location would be better than a plain old undecorated ballroom, and like I said, the fireworks pretty much always go off in the rain. I could be wrong about this, but I remember hearing that Disney even provides umbrellas or ponchos to your guests to escort them to your fireworks location if it's raining. I would definitely ask about that, because if they don't, I'd make a run to Wal Mart and pick up some cheap ponchos or something for my guests. You can always return them if you don't end up using them. I am wishing you good vibes, sunshine and fireworks! Just remember, it will be beautiful no matter what, and whatever's meant to happen will turn out being for the best. How cute would a poncho pic in the rain be for the two of you!?
 


We actually ran into some major rain issues for both our ceremony and reception. We got married late August and the weather was incredibly nice the entire 16 days were at Disney except for, you got it, our wedding day. It POURED and POURED almost the entire day.

We booked Sea Breeze Point for our ceremony followed by a reception at the french islands in Epcot capped with Illuminations. My wife called me about 2 hours prior to our ceremony to tell me that they offered to keep the ceremony at SBP (but we would have to walk in the rain), move it inside to a ballroom, or move under the Harbour Club Breezeway. I wasn't very happy because we absolutely wanted an outdoor wedding (ceremony/reception) and it was all falling apart due to the rain. I wasn't mad at Disney because it certainly wasn't their fault but we paid a significant amount of money to have specific locations.

We ultimately choose the outdoor Harbour Breeze lounge for our ceremony because it still allowed us to be outside but without having to walk in the rain. While it wasn't SBP, it was still a fantastic location and I have no regrets about choosing it given the heavy rains. Our cake cutting ceremony was moved into a tiny ballroom in the Boardwalk which was also more than fine as we were only in the room for a short period.

While I was fine with the changes to our ceremony location, I was terrified that our reception was going to be moved from the beautiful french islands to some non-decorated dark room in some pavilion. Instead, I was informed by my Wife (just after our first look) that Disney felt bad about all the changes and moved us into the Spaceship Earth Lounge! It was AMAZING!!! Our party size didn't justify the space but we were blown away (as were our guests) when we entered the lounge. It had sweeping views of the park and they just made the space work so well for our party. We still got to see the fireworks at the french islands later in the evening so everything ultimately worked out.
 
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We actually ran into some major rain issues for both our ceremony and reception. We got married late August and the weather was incredibly nice the entire 16 days were at Disney except for, you got it, our wedding day. It POURED and POURED almost the entire day.

We booked Sea Breeze Point for our ceremony followed by a reception at the french islands in Epcot capped with Illuminations. My wife called me about 2 hours prior to our ceremony to tell me that they offered to keep the ceremony at SBP (but we would have to walk in the rain), move it inside to a ballroom, or move under the Harbour Club Breezeway. I wasn't very happy because we absolutely wanted an outdoor wedding (ceremony/reception) and it was all falling apart due to the rain. I wasn't mad at Disney because it certainly wasn't their fault but we paid a significant amount of money to have specific locations.

We ultimately choose the outdoor Harbour Breeze lounge for our ceremony because it still allowed us to be outside but without having to walk in the rain. While it wasn't SBP, it was still a fantastic location and I have no regrets about choosing it given the heavy rains. Our cake cutting ceremony was moved into a tiny ballroom in the Boardwalk which was also more than fine as we were only in the room for a short period.

While I was fine with the changes to our ceremony location, I was terrified that our reception was going to be moved from the beautiful french islands to some non-decorated dark room in some pavilion. Instead, I was informed by my Wife (just after our first look) that Disney felt bad about all the changes and moved us into the GM Lounge! It was AMAZING!!! Our party size didn't justify the space but we were blown away (as were our guests) when we entered the lounge. It had sweeping views of the park and they just made the space work so well for our party. We still got to see the fireworks at the french islands later in the evening so everything ultimately worked out.


Glad it all worked out for you.

I am curious - how was the GM lounge without any decorations since you were put in there last minute? My dd will have her reception there. We will get some decorations but don't want to go overboard - not even sure what to get besides upgrading chairs, obvious center pieces.
 
Weather in Florida :flower1: you just never know.
Sunny one minute, rainy the next, they sunny again.

My daughter was married in Disney in February 2008, we were hoping for a nice comfortable day, it's winter after all.
We had the large space heaters ready to go for her Dessert Party in the evening.
We all bought nice sweaters to wear for the chilly evening.
NOPE :sad2: It was 87 degrees that day, hot, hot, hot.
She took pictures on Grand Floridian Beach before the ceremony, it was so humid and yuck.
She was sweaty in no time in her gown.

Florida weather = unpredictable.
Which can end up being a good thing in the way of a rainy forecast, you can be just fine when rain is predicated.
 


Glad it all worked out for you.

I am curious - how was the GM lounge without any decorations since you were put in there last minute? My dd will have her reception there. We will get some decorations but don't want to go overboard - not even sure what to get besides upgrading chairs, obvious center pieces.

We had no issues with the lack of decorations and actually thought it looked beautiful. They had some cool lighting effects built into the room that added to the atmosphere, but we never paid to have any real decorations. We only had simple centerpieces added to our table (one roman style table) and it was more than enough for us! The giant window over looking Epcot certainly draws your attention outside the room.
 
We had no issues with the lack of decorations and actually thought it looked beautiful. They had some cool lighting effects built into the room that added to the atmosphere, but we never paid to have any real decorations. We only had simple centerpieces added to our table (one roman style table) and it was more than enough for us! The giant window over looking Epcot certainly draws your attention outside the room.

Thank you so much. Great to Know for sure!!!!

What is a roman style table - will go google too :) - I have read that if we get "some" sort of flowers/white tool (whatever it's called) for the ceremony, they will also transfer and use it in the reception (wherever that may be. We will definitely ask next month at the planning session.

Thank you again!
 
Thank you so much. Great to Know for sure!!!!

What is a roman style table - will go google too :) - I have read that if we get "some" sort of flowers/white tool (whatever it's called) for the ceremony, they will also transfer and use it in the reception (wherever that may be. We will definitely ask next month at the planning session.

Thank you again!

I've attached a photo of the table with the windows over looking Epcot.
 

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I've attached a photo of the table with the windows over looking Epcot.


Ahhh. got it. I googled and that was not what came up (but styles of tables :sad2:)

This was for you and your bridal party, yes? They will supply this table - I am assuming then rectangle or round tables for the guests? A table for the cake...... The view looks great!!!

So overwhelming and so many details. I am sure we will forget something. Going early May for the planning :).
Thank you.
 
Ahhh. got it. I googled and that was not what came up (but styles of tables :sad2:)

This was for you and your bridal party, yes? They will supply this table - I am assuming then rectangle or round tables for the guests? A table for the cake...... The view looks great!!!

So overwhelming and so many details. I am sure we will forget something. Going early May for the planning :).
Thank you.

We only had a small group attend our wedding so the table (and even the Spaceship Earth Lounge) was a bit large for our size. Our original plans were for one of the french islands, which was smaller and more intimate. When they moved us into the lounge they simply took whatever we had planned for our original location and moved it over. As for tables, you can decide how you want to setup the room.

We actually had additional bar height tables not seen in the picture. Those were supposed to be for pre/post meal beverages so that our guests could stand and watch the fireworks at Epcot. Ultimately they severed no purpose inside at the lounge.
 
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I've attached a photo of the table with the windows over looking Epcot.

Ahhh. got it. I googled and that was not what came up (but styles of tables :sad2:)

This was for you and your bridal party, yes? They will supply this table - I am assuming then rectangle or round tables for the guests? A table for the cake...... The view looks great!!!

So overwhelming and so many details. I am sure we will forget something. Going early May for the planning :).
Thank you.

Just to clarify, that is a photo of Spaceship Earth Lounge.

This is what GM Lounge looks like:

GM%20Lounge_zps92jvrq0e.jpg



The only difference is that the floors are now white and gray fake terazzo:

GM%20Lounge%20new%20floors_zpsyl5yisp1.jpg


If you are overwhelmed, you might want to start with this episode of the podcast, which overviews the Wishes Collection and what you can customize: https://disneyweddingpodcast.com/wishes-collection-overview-2019/
 
Just to clarify, that is a photo of Spaceship Earth Lounge.

This is what GM Lounge looks like:

GM%20Lounge_zps92jvrq0e.jpg



The only difference is that the floors are now white and gray fake terazzo:

GM%20Lounge%20new%20floors_zpsyl5yisp1.jpg


If you are overwhelmed, you might want to start with this episode of the podcast, which overviews the Wishes Collection and what you can customize: https://disneyweddingpodcast.com/wishes-collection-overview-2019/


Ahh....thank you. I was wondering what was the tent outside the window.

The table looks nice decorated for the bride and groom.........I wonder where the plants came from or were they paid for that wedding.

That is some view.

We are going in two weeks for the planning session. I am just not a fan of how the room block works (even though we have the nights covered with our DVC reservations). I am not thrilled on how the percentage of dropping people and nights works. Just adds stress to add more nights, do we have enough, are we stuck paying for any.......but that is all done now.

The food/plated, etc. something else that I hope I will feel better about once we have this session. I know everything can be customized......I do feel like you are nickled and dimed and expected this. We are used to having a choice of three entrees for plated lunch/dinner here at home at almost any catering hall - but I know this is Disney and there is not in a "regular kitchen". We have some decisions to make once there.

I don't want to hijack someone's thread :) - just hope we don't forget anything and all goes as planned and it's exceeds our expectations. This is not something I do. I try not to expect too much so I won't be disappointed.
 
Just to clarify, that is a photo of Spaceship Earth Lounge.

This is what GM Lounge looks like:

GM%20Lounge_zps92jvrq0e.jpg



The only difference is that the floors are now white and gray fake terazzo:

GM%20Lounge%20new%20floors_zpsyl5yisp1.jpg


If you are overwhelmed, you might want to start with this episode of the podcast, which overviews the Wishes Collection and what you can customize: https://disneyweddingpodcast.com/wishes-collection-overview-2019/

Thanks! I'm not sure why I called it the GM lounge, I knew it was the Spaceship Earth Lounge haha.
 
Ahh....thank you. I was wondering what was the tent outside the window.

The table looks nice decorated for the bride and groom.........I wonder where the plants came from or were they paid for that wedding.

They rented them for the wedding.

We are going in two weeks for the planning session. I am just not a fan of how the room block works (even though we have the nights covered with our DVC reservations). I am not thrilled on how the percentage of dropping people and nights works. Just adds stress to add more nights, do we have enough, are we stuck paying for any.......but that is all done now.

I guess it's too late now, but you actually don't have to do a room block. I have a podcast episode on that too!

The food/plated, etc. something else that I hope I will feel better about once we have this session. I know everything can be customized......I do feel like you are nickled and dimed and expected this. We are used to having a choice of three entrees for plated lunch/dinner here at home at almost any catering hall - but I know this is Disney and there is not in a "regular kitchen". We have some decisions to make once there.

You can do a choice of multiple entrees at Disney! Either you have guests pick one on the RSVP card and you give Disney the total counts for each entree 5 days before the wedding, or you pay about $200/person in order to offer guests an on-the-spot choice (see page 94 of the guide).

Have you checked out the Planning Session episode? That will get you prepared for the day: https://disneyweddingpodcast.com/what-to-expect-at-the-wishes-planning-session/

Also, if you aren't already a member of the Disney brides groups on Facebook, check them out—they offer a lot of great ideas and tips!
 
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They rented them for the wedding.

We will definitely have to choose some things to dress it up a bit.


I guess it's too late now, but you actually don't have to do a room block. I have a podcast episode on that too!

We almost did not set one up. I have read through some of your posts/threads/podcasts before :) - and thank you. We did not block many because we did not need many and knew we would be safe either way with the DVC reservations.



You can do a choice of multiple entrees at Disney! Either you have guests pick one on the RSVP card and you give Disney the total counts for each entree 5 days before the wedding, or you pay about $200/person in order to offer guests an on-the-spot choice (see page 94 of the guide).

I do know about the RSVP - not a fan - we have had this at home too. Of course, the choice is there. My dd does not care, but I would have chosen Buffet to have many/more choices but hubby wants a plated lunch/meal. Need to consider allergies/gluten free & Vegetarians, etc.

Have you checked out the Planning Session episode? That will get you prepared for the day: https://disneyweddingpodcast.com/what-to-expect-at-the-wishes-planning-session/

I have read some threads on it so we more or less know what to expect but have not had the time to listen to one recently. My dd bought a house two hours away. Between work, babysitting the grandchildren and going back and forth to get the house ready, time is limited.

Also, if you aren't already a member of the Disney brides groups on Facebook, check them out—they offer a lot of great ideas and tips!
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I had deactivated my account for almost a year. Back on but very little. Might look into it.

Thank you so much. You are always very helpful!!!!!!
 
@AnnaS

Disney is GREAT about special diets, so they will easily be abble to accommodate plated meals for your vegetarian, gluten-free, etc. guests!

And I have been told that the Disney Wedding Podcast makes great commuting listening—one bride was recently able to get through all 367 episodes just going to and from work! :teeth:
 

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