Getting Married at Disney World

[BIGDOG]

My son asked his long time girlfriend to marry him on Christmas day; she said yes.
I always said I would pay if they got married in Disney world.
My question is can a small party gather and they get married on the steps of the castle or will they be stopped?
Of course we would all be ticket holding guests and would have a casual reception somewhere Disney property.

[1DisneyNut]

You will be stopped.

They actually sell wedding packages. For the right price, you can probably have a ceremony in front of the castle but it probably cost thousands. I am just speculating though, as I have never looked into it.

Edit: I just looked it up and Magic Kingdom weddings start at $10,000 for the basic package. The cheapest they offer is outdoor settings and they start at $3500. They have a website www.disneywedddings.com

[mechanic]

Anything that resembles an organized event in the park would be quickly shut down. 2 people in vacation attire saying vows to each other, probably not. But without an officiant, and friends and family what would the point be?
I don't believe any of the official packages include a ceremony in the park. But for enough $ that might be possible. The wedding chapel is very nice, and is located between gf and poly. It has a view of the castle .

[SBETigg]

They do have wedding packages for a small number of guests, and they do offer some experiences in the parks depending on park hours (nothing during regular operating hours, but there may be pavilion/attraction related exceptions). Costs can be reasonable, or get quite high depending on what you want. It's fun to look over the Disney Weddings site and see what's possible, but I haven't been out there in years to know what changes have taken place recently.

[BIGDOG]

Well we were going to have our friend who is a pastor who lives near Disney do the honors so getting him there would be no problem. There was no talk of gowns or anything because they wanted to spend the day at the park any ways. I think this could get done with out a problem. I did order the wedding dvd from Disney should be here in a few days. I'm sure it will go from just a small quick exchanging vows to a full blown flying in a couple hundred now.

[RunDMV]

Well we were going to have our friend who is a pastor who lives near Disney do the honors so getting him there would be no problem. There was no talk of gowns or anything because they wanted to spend the day at the park any ways. I think this could get done with out a problem. I did order the wedding dvd from Disney should be here in a few days. I'm sure it will go from just a small quick exchanging vows to a full blown flying in a couple hundred now.

If you are saying that despite the prohibitions against doing an unsanctioned ceremony, you would proceed, rethink your position.

[1DisneyNut]

If you are saying that despite the prohibitions against doing an unsanctioned ceremony, you would proceed, rethink your position.

I agree. What will happen is there are CM's and supervisors all over the place and they will see what is happening.

OP, I am sure you are far from the first to think of trying this and I wouldn't be surprised if it happens almost daily. Do you really want to roll the dice and have them shut it down right in the middle of the vows?

Besides, once word gets out, you will have friends and close relatives that want to partake and next thing you know it will be a big attention getting crowd instead of a handful of people.

I personally am against anyone attempting this because if one gets away with it, then 3 more people read this or see it happen and then they try it and then 20 people see or read about those and it just extrapolates out from there. Next thing you know, we can't even walk through magic kingdom for all the people trying to sneak in marriages all over the park, especially around the castle. This is exactly why they shut them down and they sell a limited number of packages with specific time slots.

[ChipNDale79]

I agree. What will happen is there are CM's and supervisors all over the place and they will see what is happening.

OP, I am sure you are far from the first to think of trying this and I wouldn't be surprised if it happens almost daily. Do you really want to roll the dice and have them shut it down right in the middle of the vows?

Besides, once word gets out, you will have friends and close relatives that want to partake and next thing you know it will be a big attention getting crowd instead of a handful of people.

I personally am against anyone attempting this because if one gets away with it, then 3 more people read this or see it happen and then they try it and then 20 people see or read about those and it just extrapolates out from there. Next thing you know, we can't even walk through magic kingdom for all the people trying to sneak in marriages all over the park, especially around the castle. This is exactly why they shut them down and they sell a limited number of packages with specific time slots.

They shut them down and offer limited packages because they know people will pay a boat load for them

Disney isn't dumb on this one, they know people spend a lot of money on weddings, and this is a way for them to capture a lot of money without a lot of expense on their part. It's a very smart move.

If you attempt a wedding in front of the castle without their knowledge, chances are you are going to be shut down. Disney will see this as "taking money from them".

[disneymom15]

Weddings inside the park take place before the park opens. Daughter got married last January in the wedding pavilion, did not want an early morning wedding they chose another option.

[RunDMV]

They shut them down and offer limited packages because they know people will pay a boat load for them

Disney isn't dumb on this one, they know people spend a lot of money on weddings, and this is a way for them to capture a lot of money without a lot of expense on their part. It's a very smart move.

If you attempt a wedding in front of the castle without their knowledge, chances are you are going to be shut down. Disney will see this as "taking money from them".

I disagree with your position. The line has to be drawn somewhere so as not to ruin other guests experience. So, where do you draw the line? A party of 3? 6? 29? 50? all gathered near the front of the Castle. No means no.

[Kairi_7378]

I think that you could get the spirit of what you are looking to do (nice low key ceremony followed by a day in the parks) without trying to get married in the park, per se. Your friend the pastor lives close to WDW. Would it be possible to have the ceremony early in the morning, either in a nearby hotel room or in your friend's place of worship? The happy couple could share their favorite breakfast pastry in lieu of a big cake, walk around in the bride and groom ears if they are into that sort of thing, and get some nice pictures in front of the castle without worrying about CM's interrupting your ceremony or being in the middle of a bunch of couples getting engaged. The reception could be as casual as everyone getting their favorite at Casey's or a fancier meal in one of the monorail resorts.

[paragon]

I am not sure about the actual marriage ceremony inside the park, but on our last trip-this past September, we DID see a bride & groom having photos taken at the castle entrance, they were on the right side, and the bride was posing along the entrance wall. This was early morning, as we had breakfast at the castle.

[ChipNDale79]

I disagree with your position. The line has to be drawn somewhere so as not to ruin other guests experience. So, where do you draw the line? A party of 3? 6? 29? 50? all gathered near the front of the Castle. No means no.

No means no?

I said they shouldnt attempt it.......

[DonaldDuckUSA]

I think that you could get the spirit of what you are looking to do (nice low key ceremony followed by a day in the parks) without trying to get married in the park, per se. Your friend the pastor lives close to WDW. Would it be possible to have the ceremony early in the morning, either in a nearby hotel room or in your friend's place of worship? The happy couple could share their favorite breakfast pastry in lieu of a big cake, walk around in the bride and groom ears if they are into that sort of thing, and get some nice pictures in front of the castle without worrying about CM's interrupting your ceremony or being in the middle of a bunch of couples getting engaged. The reception could be as casual as everyone getting their favorite at Casey's or a fancier meal in one of the monorail resorts.

I think this is the better idea. Additionally, you'll probably be taking pictures as the ceremony goes on and that may be difficult to do without getting other Disney guests in the background. IDK about you and your family, but I would prefer if other people weren't in my shots. If you do it at a resort or another Disney spot, you can probably arrange yourself better so you're not around ALL the people who ALL want to visit the castle.

[RunDMV]

No means no?

I said they shouldnt attempt it.......

to clarify: I disagree that it is about Disney trying to make money. (one of the few times in Disney history)

it is about not ruining other guests' experience.

[1DisneyNut]

to clarify: I disagree that it is about Disney trying to make money. (one of the few times in Disney history)

it is about not ruining other guests' experience.

I really think it is a combination of both. Random weddings all over the place would be a problem but they also make a ton of money off of them. They have pretty well proven over the past several years that they are more concerned with profit than the guests. If there wasn't consideration of making money involved, they wouldn't charge such exorbitant fees for the weddings and would not be so quick to shut them down in places where they really aren't a problem.

So really this seems to be one of those things where it works out for the best on both sides. Guest experience is preserved and Disney grabs a lot of cash at the same time.

[goofy for pluto]

Honestly do you want a lot of people around that aren't part of your ceremony during your wedding?
Last spring my family was in a park having a picnic where there was a wedding going on. They had the wedding set up on a hill with the woods in the background. The bride arrived in a horse drawn carriage, and they had a 3 piece orchestra playing for the ceremony. They obviously had spent a lot of time planning this.
We were up in a small shelter not too far away and watched horrified as some teenagers starting photo bombing the wedding pictures and video, laughing and taking selfies with the in the wedding in the background. Even my teenage son was upset at their total lack of respect. There are many places to have a wedding but a crowded public place may not turn out the way you imagine it will.

[BigRedDad]

The answer is no. Disney will break it up because it is an unsanctioned gathering...especially when they are charging for that same service. If you want a Disney wedding, prepare to open that checkbook and pay through the nose.