Private Anniversary Dessert Party at Epcot
I worked with a planner at the BoardWalk Inn on a surprise dinner and dessert (including a replica of the top layer of our wedding cake) during IllumiNations at Epcot. I contacted her about 6 months ahead of time and put down a deposit, but I had to wait til 90 days to sign the contract. Final payment was due 30 days before the event.
Because it was just the two of us, we reserved UK Pubside, a venue adjacent to the patio at Rose & Crown that is designed for a maximum of 10 people. In 2009, the venue-rental fee was $100 plus 6.5% tax, and the food and beverage minimum was $220 plus tax and 21% service charge. There is also a viewing fee if you don’t have park admission—$12.95/person when we were planning.
Also, the fine print of our contract stated that if we had fewer than 20 people, Disney would charge a $50 small-party fee, but this never showed up in our BEO or on our final bill.
Location of UK Pubside
We had the option to try for one of the dessert party locations used for weddings, like UK Lochside, but since you have to pay the $22/person food and beverage minimum for the minimum number of people required by these sites, and that’s at least 20, it was out of our budget. As it turned out, I thought UK Pubside had the best view of IllumiNations anywhere, so we were happy to be there!
Dinner Options
Our planner presented us with three options for dinner:
1. Dinner reservation in Epcot + Desserts During Illuminations @ UK Pubside
2. Dinner with Rose & Crown food service + Desserts During Illuminations @ UK Pubside
3. Dinner at BoardWalk Inn + Desserts During Illuminations @ UK Pubside
I picked Option 2 so that we could spend as long as possible at UK Pubside. Because I’m not crazy about the Rose & Crown’s food, we were fortunate that the chef agreed to work with us to customize a dinner with dishes from other Epcot menus, including Le Cellier, Coral Reef and the Epcot catering menu. I sent in a suggested menu, and then we worked on it to get the price down to $50/person plus tax and service charge. The price of dinner did not count toward our food and beverage minimum.
Anniversary Cake
I sent my planner a picture of our wedding cake and asked for a 6-inch anniversary cake that replicated the top layer, but in hot pink. Originally the price was $55, but when I asked to add the fondant “handles” from our wedding cake and to create an appropriately themed topper from fondant, the price went up to $110. However, this amount did apply to our dessert food and beverage minimum. There was also a $75 delivery fee to get the cake from the Grand Floridian Bakery to Epcot.
Desserts!
Because the cake applied to our food and beverage minimum, we only needed to order a few more desserts to make up the difference. We picked some from existing Epcot menus and asked them to add peanut butter chocolate marshmallow squares, which we’d had at our wedding dessert party but were no longer on their menus. We also asked to do milk, cider, and hot chocolate BOC (“bill on consumption”), meaning we would only be charged for what we drank. And we added two scoops of vanilla ice cream for our cake.
Total Price
Without the cake and dinner, you can do one of these parties for $320 (before tax and service charge). Here are our totals, including tax and service charge:
Anniversary Cake: $117.15
Dessert Party + Cake Delivery + Handling: $210.26
Venue Rental Fee: $106.50
Dinner: $124.50
TOTAL: $558.41
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m guessing that they dropped the $50 small party fee (for less than 20 people) as the venue only actually holds 10.
Yeah, that would explain why we didn’t get slapped with the fee at UK Pubside for our dessert party either.
Carrie who exactly did you contact to do this? Is there a specific phone number you called or an email?
I worked with Disney Catered Events (321-939-7278) — Sorry! The info got broken out of the article when I made a main page that has it all, here: http://disneytravelbabble.com/how-to/private-party/
Carrie,
First of all, I love your website, your photos, and your wonderful sense of humor.
I’m trying to plan a surprise VR for my wife. In lieu of a mid-day reception, I’m thinking about a DP similar to the one you did. It will be a small affair (8 adults, 6 kids). I think the DP will be well-received by everyone, but I’d like to get a bar going for the adults. Assuming alcohol counts toward the F&B minimum, this could be a great (and not too expensive) event. Do you know if a package bar is only for guests that are older than 21? And, any idea if the $100 labor charge is waived if the total F&B (not just beverage) exceeds $500.
Thanks for any insight.
Hi there! Yes, alcohol counts toward the food and beverage minimum. The $100 labor charge is only waived if the bar sells more than $500. When you do a package bar, your choices include soda and water, so the ages of the guests don’t matter. However, I always recommend doing Bill On Consumption instead of paying for a package upfront. People never drink as much as Disney estimates they will with a package, and you usually end up getting some money back. Hope this helps!
I was wondering if you can rent the UK Pubside for a group (we would be 7) without meals or desserts – just for viewing the fireworks?
Unfortunately, no. One of the two requirements is that you spend a certain amount of money on food and beverages in addition to the venue rental fee. If the price isn’t the problem and you just don’t need the food, maybe you could have it all be wrapped things (like Mickey Krispies) that you could take with you for later.
First and foremost, thank you for the wonderful information you have provided both through this site and on DIS Boards!
I too am arranging a surprise vow renewal for my wife, in Feb 2012. I have the “Memories Collection” package because the maximum number of guests will be 6 (including my wife and I). The most likely senario is that it’ll be my wife, myself and my daughter! I’m really stumped on what to do after the ceremony which is at 3pm. We have the DDP but I don’t really want to just book a with everyone else, I’d like to do something a little more intimate and special.
I love the idea of the private dessert party for Illuminations with our very own custom cake, but I’m not sure that I’m following what you did and how the costs work out. I really don’t mind paying “over the top” because I have so few guests as long as I can make it special for my wife.
So I’m sorry if I am asking stupid questions, please bear with me I’m just a guy! ;o)
As I’m understanding it, you rented the venue for 10 and as long as you meet the minimum expenditure, which would include the cake? Is this correct?
What a sweet idea for your wife! Yes, Epcot has some smaller venues with 10-person guest-count minimums, and as long as you pay the food and beverage minimum for 10 people (currently $23/person, a.k.a. $230) you can use them. Our cake counted toward the minimum expenditure even though it was made by the Grand Floridian Bakery. If you want a really fancy cake, be sure your planner knows that you want it to come from the GF or the Yacht & Beach Club Bakery and you’re OK with paying a delivery fee; Epcot’s bakery cannot do fondant or anything fancy. In addition to the food and beverage minimum, your site will have a venue-rental fee, which includes tables and chairs, plus basic tea-light candles. And you will need to pay a viewing fee of $12.95/person for those who don’t have tickets to the park. Let me know if you have any further questions!
Hi! We are planning our Epcot dessert party for this Sept. Any recommendations on whether to do UK or the obat idea? We have 30 guests. Also, any idea if tower of terror is available for 30 guests? Or anywhere in Hollywood Studios?
I think the very best IllumiNations viewing spots are in Italy and the UK. With 30 guests, you qualify for Italy West Plaza and UK Lochside, both of which are wonderful. Italy has a slight edge because occasionally the wind blows the smoke from the show over the UK. Tower of Terror’s Courtyard is available for parties, and there are numerous other locations inside DHS. Check out THIS POST, which details them all, including photos and prices.
Thanks for all the feedback!!! Epcot UK it is! Anyone have any favorite desserts from there? Also random queation, has anyone done a disney honeymoon from wdw?
I called disney catering and haven’t heard back in two days. Do you think they’ll be able to do something at AK since they close earlier, I figure this might be a better choice for my young family. There are five of us (three children 2, 2, 8). What do you think the best options are for my hubby’s birthday?
Usually it takes them a while to get back to you, especially if it’s quite a while until your event. I’d give them a week and then try back. Many of Animal Kingdom’s venues are pricey, so if you’re looking to save a buck, I’d recommend using one of the pavilions at Flame Tree BBQ, which have a venue rental fee of $250 and a food and beverage minimum of $200 during the day (which means you wouldn’t even have to wait for the park to close to use one). I’m never quite sure what one does at an Animal Kingdom event other than eat, since there’s no fireworks show to watch, but you can hire entertainers, including animal wranglers, musicians, magicians, face painters, and the like. Figure on at least $300 apiece there. With little ones, you may even want to do the event at breakfast time. Another advantage to having an event during the daytime is that you could do what’s called a ride “mix-in” where you pay about $15/person and are escorted onto the ride without waiting. It’s way cheaper than buying out the ride after hours, but for something with FASTPASS like Everest you might as well just use FPs. But maybe the safari would be good?
Hi Lurky loo.
Your pictures and information on this subject is fantastic!!
I caught your site the otherday on a routine search of best place to view illuminations and have been hooked ever since.. (my mods at work might block your site I am on it so much ..but I multi task well!)
Anyway, might as well ask..My little one turning 3 is in love with illuminations, all he talks about since last trip, since I won’t make it back to Disney for sometime after this trip here goes.
I have 3 adults and 3 children (counting him) attending this September. What would be the bare minimum I would spend to reserve and area for private viewing of illuminations? (or any other ideas)
Appreciate any advice or feedback you may have.
Hi there! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the site! So the most basic costs of an IllumiNations DP are the venue fee + the food and beverage minimum + per-person viewing fees if you don’t have admission to the park, with tax and service charge on top. The venue fee depends on which space you want. UK Pubside’s is somewhere around $150 now, plus 6.5% tax. The food and beverage minimum there is $230 + 21% service fee + 6.5% tax on the total. So, if you’ll have park admission, you’re looking at just under $300 if you can keep your menu to exactly $230 before tax and service charge. Hope this helps!