Taxes and tips

[zanzibar138]

Hi all! We're in the midst of comparing wedding packages at HKDL and WDW (with travel from Australia). HKDL's basic package is about 80% of the cost of WDW's minimum spend (after converting to AUD), but doesn't include much and is designed (and priced) for 50 people (although the only thing we would absolutely NEED to add would be photography). We're looking at a micro wedding, with a maximum of around 20 people all up, so we're trying to work out whether it's worth the extra travel time and expense to get the more customised package with WDW, which would cover something pretty special for our small group. This is proving to be quite the conundrum, since HKDL is only a 7.5 hour direct flight away (with flights from around $1000 or quite easily bookable on points), and WDW is a minimum of 3 flights totalling at least 26 hours (at a minimum cost of over $5k and very rarely available to book with points). We could quite easily get away with 5 nights in HK (and guests could even consider 3 nights if they really want to attend but have to minimise travel costs and/or time off work), but due to the extra time and cost involved in travelling to Orlando, would really want to spend at least 2 weeks, which obviously adds a fair bit extra in travel costs (and dog sitting!), and we wouldn't expect more than a handful of people to make the trip.

Not being so familiar with the US taxes and tipping system, I've kind of budgeted for an extra $2k (USD) on top of the minimum $15k spend, but is that realistic? If there's likely to be a lot of additional spend on top of that, it will probably tip the scales back to HKDL. Are there any other factors that we should be considering? We'd be looking at a November 2024 wedding.

I should add that I'm aware there will be extra costs for a celebrant, wedding dress, Australian marriage licence etc, and have factored all of that in too. Just need help with the taxes and tipping part for the actual wedding package.

 

[lurkyloo]

So the tax and service charge on a Walt Disney World wedding really depend on which items and services you're getting from Disney and how much you're spending. The best way to get a realistic estimate is to enter the prices for the things you want into the self-calculating budget starting on p. 242 of the Fairytale Weddings Guide eBook. It will automatically calculate tax and service charge on whatever you enter and show you how much extra they cost on p. 246.

If you said that you'd always dreamed of a WDW wedding and those parks have special meaning to you, then I could see making the extra effort and spend to get there. But it sounds like HKDL will be much easier and cheaper for your situation, so if their package fits what you envisioned for your day, that might be the better option.

 

[zanzibar138]

Thanks Lurkyloo. That ebook sounds like exactly what I'm looking for, I'll have to see if I can find it!

It's actually HKDL that I have a bit of a special attachment to, I'm just not sure about it from a value perspective. To be honest, I don't feel that much connection to WDW - to this point I've never been able to justify the extra travel time and cost. My partner doesn't have any real connection to any of the parks yet, but a WDW wedding would get us closer to his dream of a total Cinderella wedding with a horse drawn carriage, a castle in the background and a fireworks display, with the opportunity to take formal bridal portraits in the park (at HKDL, that package is about an extra $20k, so that is definitely off the table!).

 

[lurkyloo]

If it helps, you should be able to still take pre-park-opening portraits inside Magic Kingdom after your HKDL wedding. Disney Fine Art Photography in Florida lets couples who were married at ANY Disney park/resort book those. So you could plan a trip to Florida later to do those!

Here's an episode about how it works: https://disneyweddingpodcast.com/disney-park-portrait-session-faq/

 

[zanzibar138]

Good to know, thanks!