Can You Propose At Walt Disney World? (We Did!)
Disney World is one of the most magical places on earth, they say it themselves and I truly believe this for both adults and children. Just because you get older, doesn’t mean you have to grow up and that was evident when we saw people of all ages, with and without children and from all walks of life enjoying their time at Disney World and complaining equally about long queues, which let’s face it, we all do!
Although we’re already married we decided it might be nice to get some Disney inspired engagement photos as our first engagement we had no pictures of and we wanted something a little magical. People were confused as to why we did it but the pictures turned out great and that’s one of the many reasons we picked Disney for a proposal location.
The great thing about Disney is they’re all about happiness, and love and are willing to help with everything you might need. They also have various locations at Disney World where you can have a magical Disney proposal with some amazing backdrops that look incredible.
The Best Proposal At Walt Disney World
So you want to plan a Disney proposal, that’s great! I bet you’ve found this post because you have some questions you need answers for. It took me ages to get all the answers I needed to propose at Disney World so hopefully, this article will have everything you need. If there’s anything that hasn’t been answered, let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer them!
How Much Does It Cost To Propose At Disney World?
When it came to proposing at Disney World this was my first question. After paying for the tickets, knowing that we had to pay for parking and then everything else on top I was a little bit dubious about if I’d have to pay extra for the liberty of proposing to my husband at Disney World.
Thankfully, it’s totally free. You don’t have to pay anything extra to propose at Disney World. I would, however, suggest that you get memory maker, which will allow you to have your photos taken by Disney photographers around the park. The photos look amazing, and really professional and every time you see someone wearing green with a camera, you can ask them to snap your photo.
I asked a member of staff to take our engagement photo and they were super helpful, took some amazing, high-quality photos and it made the moment a little bit more special. You can also ask a member of Disney staff to take photos on your phone which they’ll happily do but this way was so much easier and the photos were captivating and something I didn’t even need to think about when I was on one knee, yet again forgetting what I wanted to say.
So to answer the question, do you have to pay to propose at Disney World, the answer is no.
Do You Need Permission To Propose At Disney World?
You don’t need permission per se, that being said there are certain locations that you can’t propose and these areas consist of locations where the general public isn’t allowed in any way.
You can propose pretty much anywhere you like, that being said if you’re going to be asking one of the park photographers to take a photo of you using memory maker (which we both highly recommend!) then they are only allowed to work within certain areas so check with them first to see if they can capture your perfect moment or you might not get the photos you want.
Can Same-Sex Couples Propose At Disney World?
Yes, gay couples can propose at Disney World, all of the LGBTQ+ community can. Disney World is an accepting and magical place where anything negative should be left in the car. When I proposed we had an audience around us and everyone cheered and clapped! It was also at the same time the parade was about to start which meant instead of a couple hundred people it was more like a thousand watching me!
Where To Propose At Disney World?
So Disney World is quite big, we visited the four parks and we both agree there are loads of places you could propose, some being more obvious than others. It all depends on if you want there to be a large audience, what you’re looking for and if you want professional photos taken.
If you’re using your memory maker photos then you’ll need somewhere that a photographer will be! Here are some suggestions below on where to propose at Walt Disney World.
I will take this moment to say that Animal Kingdom is probably the worst park to propose in. There aren’t many areas with photographers (they are mainly all by the park entrance), there aren’t any take your breath away areas and it’s all a bit naff there, so keep that in mind.
#1 – The Magic Castle (Magic Kingdom)
This is the obvious choice. It’s the number one spot for proposals at Disney World and we all know why. Magic Kingdom is Disney’s busiest park, it has some of the best views and to have the magic castle in the background on that special moment is the icing on the cake.
I proposed at the magic castle, thankfully it was fairly quiet in that spot as everyone was waiting for the parade. The area can get very busy so make sure you plan the best time to propose, after all, you don’t want your photos to have loads of people in them. I’m petty sure there’s a woman in every single one of our photos and she’s moved literally one foot in each!
#2 – Spaceship Earth (Epcot)
This was my second location if I was unable to use the first. The huge ball (Spaceship Earth) is a mighty backdrop to have in your proposal pictures. There is a memory maker photographer there as well who can snap some amazing photos and if you’re both interested in everything Epcot stands for, it’s a testament to your love.
Epcot can get a little busy but due to the location there shouldn’t be any people lingering around in your photo, it’ll just be the two of you and that’ll make your photos even more memorable.
#3 – With A Character! (Anywhere!)
You can even rope in a character to help you propose, you can either let the staff know ahead of time or make it a total surprise in the moment so that everyone (apart from you) will be surprised and you can see the wonderous looks on their faces!
Some of the characters that I suggest proposing with are below. We met all of the characters listed below so I hopefully have some insight there, even if I didn’t propose in front of them.
- Mulan (She was super polite and the room you meet her in is gorgeous. She can be found in Epcot).
- Aerial (Just make sure she doesn’t try to trade a fork for the ring! She can be found in Magic Kingdom)
- Minnie Mouse (She was lovely and can be found at Epcot)
There are loads of other characters you could propose around. Tigger and Winnie are a duo and they love romance, they found out that I’d proposed that day and made a heart in our photo, how cute!!
I hope this list of places to propose at Disney World has helped! Just remember, if you want a Disney member of staff to take your photo you might be limited on where you can propose at Disney, however, some of the places can still be magical if done right!
How To Plan A Proposal At Disney World?
I was super worried about proposing at Disney World, thinking I might get it wrong or something might happen and I’d be unable to propose. It was raining a lot on our trip so I had my fingers crossed that it wouldn’t rain!
I did a few things to make sure it all went according to plan and if you’re trying to find out how to propose at Disney World, take a look at the tips below for inspiration and to make sure nothing goes wrong!
- Separate during security. I imagine you’ll have the ring in your bag or on your person, make sure you go through security separately if possible so if you get pulled for a search, your partner shouldn’t be around to see the ring!
- Know your location! Make sure you know exactly where you want to propose and if there are any memory maker photographers there. Get your partner to stand in the photo area and then have a quick word with the photographer and just say, “I’m about to propose so if you could have loads of photos that would be amazing” Most of the time they take 3-6 photos but with proposals, it’s more like 10-15.
- Check the weather app. Make sure it’s not going to rain when you’re planning to propose otherwise you might end up walking away a little soggy and it’ll ruin the moment.
- Have the ring ready. If you carry the ring into the park in your bag, go to the toilet beforehand, fish out the ring and stick it in your pocket!
What Happens If You Propose At Disney
Hopefully, they’ll say yes. Disney won’t tell you off as long as you follow the rules they set out, such as not using restricted areas or blocking the parade. So if someone has told you that you’re not allowed and you’re thinking why can’t you propose at Disney World, don’t worry! It’s okay to propose.
The most that will happen is people around you will cheer and clap like they did with us and don’t forget to pop into the nearest shop to get a “happily ever after” badge! You can also get birthday badges and as I proposed on my partner’s birthday, we had a lot of badges that day!
Proposing At Disney World Summary
Can I Propose At Disney World? YES! Have fun, and make it enjoyable and memorable because (hopefully) you’ll only need to do it once. Make it an occasion to remember and to make everyone else super jealous!
Everyone is so friendly and supportive at Disney World it’s unbelievable. Although Florida isn’t heading in the right direction when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, we didn’t have an issue at Disney and actually, there were a lot of LGBTQ+ members both staff and visitors so thankfully our community are looked after.