When I first started planning my Disney Wedding I spent a lot of time searching the internet trying to find out as much as possible about different venues for a Wedding Reception. I was immediately drawn to Ariel’s.

For those that don’t know, Ariel’s is regarded as one of Disney Fairy Tale Wedding’s “Special Venues” located at Disney’s Beach Club this venue used to be an upscale seafood restaurant for Resort guests but sadly closed to the public back in the mid 90’s. However the good news is that it became a space used for Conventions and Weddings.

When I stumbled upon Ariel’s I realized that this special venue came with a lot of pros that was going to keep my wedding budget very much in check. As our wedding ceremony was going to be held at The Yacht Club Gazebo by having my wedding reception at Ariel’s I wasn’t going to have to pay out transportation costs for my guests as Ariel’s is just a short walk from the Gazebo! Not having a ballroom for our wedding reception was important because I needed a venue that our Disneyphile guests couldn’t experience any other time themselves so Ariel’s now had 2 big ticks against it. Finally I wouldn’t have to have to pay extra for DFTW to lay a dance floor because part of the flooring was stone-work perfect for dancing… tick #3 and a done deal!

First Dance at Ariel’s

Ariel’s can accommodate up to 80 guests but we only had just over 40 so we were able to use part of the split-level space as the bar area and for the pre-reception cocktail hour.

“Punch anyone”

We then had a 4-course meal served, although these days I believe DFTW push this venue for buffets only, but our meal was followed by dancing and we had a wonderful afternoon. You could almost see the children from the nearby Stormalong Bay pin themselves to the windows outside eyeing us all with envy as we celebrated our wedding with our special guests …

Room to swing a …. Mouse!

Dance floor below and windows looking out onto Stormalong Bay

I know our guests still talk of how they were lucky enough to enjoy Ariel’s and it worked out to be the perfect wedding reception venue for us…. and given that we always vacation back at Walt Disney World every year we’re also lucky enough to walk by Ariel’s and give each other that knowing smile, when we hear other resort guests say to each other “oooo I wonder how you get to eat in there?”

Thank you for allowing me to share some of our wedding reception highlights with you all.  For more information on Ariel’s, including pricing minimums, site specific restrictions and wedding recaps please visit the Disneymooner Forums.