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Are these 'events' parties? Our events are almost never parties. Some events end with mini-birthday parties for the family group. And clients have booked events for 40 people that required a party. But most events are just that: events. But most events are just that: events taking place in the theme parks and lasting from a few minutes to 2 hours.
Can you plan something if there are only two people involved? Absolutely! 85% of our events are for families of 2, 3, 4, or 5 people. Sometimes a single person has us plan a surprise for them. Or a single parent will ask us to plan something for them so that their young children will see that Mommy or Daddy is surprised for their birthday.
What if this is being planned for someone who is shy? Our events do not put the recipient "in the limelight" - unless that is something they would like.
I want an event for my child but I am worried he/she will be too shy around strangers. First, none of our events separate a child from their parents. Second, none of the children's events involve your child interacting with strangers. It is hard to explain in a few words here. However, should you begin to plan an event with us this will be fully explained when the event is presented to you for you to consider.
Why do children have to be at least five years old? We are very proud of our customer service and for that reason we do not offer custom events for children under five years of age. We have found that quite often children under the age of five are too timid to enjoy their events. Often they are tired or cranky during the event or just plain not interested because the surrounding theme parks have already overwhelmed their attentions. We would never want a client to feel that their event was a waste of time and money because the reaction they expected from their young child was just not there. And if the child is too (tired, cranky, overwhelmed) to enjoy the event, what would the point be of having it?
Is theme park admission included in the cost of the event? No. You would need to secure your own admission and for those of your family or group.
Do I have to be staying at a Disney or Universal hotel for one of these events? No. You may stay on property, off property, or live locally.
Are gifts included in the cost of an event? When we send you the event idea it will state the cost of the event and it will state if gifts are included in that event and what those gifts will be. If gifts are not included, it will state that also. No additional fees.
Can you decorate my hotel room? We can decorate your hotel room for a birthday, anniversary, honeymoon, Halloween, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter or Christmas. We have different décor themes for the various occasions depending on the age of the person and the hotel where the room is located. Many room decorating events include a custom cake to fit the theme of the event. However, we cannot contract with you to decorate the room of someone else. Only the guests staying in a room can arrange for a room decorating.
Who are the Pixies? The people who create and then perform the GOAL events are called our Pixies.
Are the Pixies (or GOAL) a part of Disney? GOAL is not a part of the Disney company. GOAL began creating events that take place in and around the theme parks 10 years ago as a way to expand and individualize a guest's experience. We work strictly within the park's guidelines. We do not make your reservations for dining. We do not move you to the front of the line for rides. We do not interfere with the enjoyment of the theme park for any other guest in the park. For the limited events that do involve private banquet rooms, actual character appearances, catered dining, or rental of a specific location, we will assist in making all these arrangements and act as your on-site advocate to see that your wishes are honored as contracted with Disney or Universal.
Can we plan an event for Christmas Day? We always put families first and our first families are those of our pixies. GOAL Pixies do not work on Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Easter, Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Can I have an event in Disneyland, CA, or on the Disney Cruise Line ships? This is a complicated question. We are in Central Florida. Expansion to California is not planned at this time. We have done several events in California and on the Disney cruise ships, but only when the client has paid all of the associated expenses (such as air, lodging, etc for the pixies working their event). Due to the high costs involved in events taking place in California we do not offer this service without the financial commitment of the client at the time of booking.
I just found out about GOAL and I will be in Florida next week. Is it too late to plan an event? You should email jane@giftsofalifetime.com or call GOAL at (407) 445-2457 at once. If the date still has availability we will see if there is anything that can be planned for your occasion in time for your date. If we do not feel that there is enough time or adequate resources to properly prepare for your event we will not contract to do it.
Do characters make appearances at these events? Disney does not permit characters to perform at private events held in public locations in the theme parks during park operating hours. WDW's charge for characters to appear at other events begins at $600 per character for a minimum appearance of 25 minutes.
Have the pixies ever had to cancel out on an event? We have never had to cancel an event on a client (except for a rain-date photo event) in ten years. But this is a small company and there may come a time when a family emergency takes precedent. In that case we will make every effort to reach you before the event to explain the circumstances and of course, give you a complete refund for your event.
Why do you ask the questions that are on the questionnaire. Our Pixie Questionnaire™ is designed to give us information that will help us plan the magical moments for the person(s) you are surprising. The questions give us some insight into their tastes and their preferences. All information submitted on a questionnaire is used only in the planning of an event. WE NEVER share that information with anyone or for internal or external marketing or advertising purposes purposes - and we never will!
Why do I have to put an exact date on the questionnaire? Planning each of our events takes time and energy. If you are not sure of your dates it is a waste of our energies to plan something for you that may not be available when you finally have selected a date.
I sent a questionnaire 3 months ago. Why haven't I heard anything yet? First, email jane@giftsofalifetime.com to make sure your questionnaire was received. Second, if you did not include a valid email address or left the date requested section incomplete you will not receive a reply. Third, if you are utilizing a SPAM filter there is a good chance we did reply and your service did not recognize it as a valid email. Please check your SPAM and trash bin. Lastly, we reply to events for an individual month in the order in which they were received. If 20 people sent their questionnaires before you for the same date requested, you will not hear from us until those events have been planned and presented.
Can I plan my wedding through you? Weddings at WDW are planned through Disney's FairyTale Wedding department. If you would like an on-site advocate to help work with you and FairyTale weddings this is something we will do but GOAL does NOT contract for wedding ceremonies at the Disney properties.
Can you plan something for someone who has special needs? GOAL has planned events for guests who have been hearing impaired, vision impaired, mentally challenged and autistic. We welcome the opportunity to assist anyone and to make their experience a special one.
How long does an event take: Most of our events are designed to take between 1 and 2 hours. Adding to the time of the event will add to the final cost (if you want a longer event). If you stop to have a meal that is not part of the event this will change the timing of the event and add to your final cost. cost. If you are 45 minutes late to the starting time of your event you will be charged an additional $75 for every 30 additional minutes that you event goes over the reserved time. In ten years we have only had four clients excessively delay their event to the point that we had to charge them an additional fee.
Want about still photos or video taping of the event? You are free to take as many photos or as much video as you wish during your event, providing you are not photographing anything that the theme park has already made a no photo zone (inside some shows and inside some dark rides). If you wish to have GOAL take video or if you wish to utilize our professional photographer that can be arranged for many events, in advance and at a very reasonable cost. You retain all rights to video taken at your event. Our professional photographer also gives you all the rights to the photos taken through that service. GOAL does not retain any rights to the photos.
What if someone in my family gets up sick that morning and we cannot make it to the event? This has happened twice. We ask our clients to call our office that morning if there are any health problems that would make the event impossible for that day. Our confirmed clients also have a cell phone number to contact us in an emergency on the day of their event. We will work with you to re-schedule for another date during your trip. If you are unable to make a new date and time within our schedule you will forfeit the price of the event. Again, this has happened only twice in 10 years.
Okay, after I choose an event, what kind of gifts are there to choose? Anything you want. Some clients want our pixies to purchase gifts for them at the WDW properties. We can suggest gifts from $20 to $200+ for any event that we plan. But they are only suggestions. Some people ship gifts directly to our offices and we bring them to the theme parks for the event. Occasionally our client will purchase a gift and bring it with them (for instance: an engagement ring). We have also had clients who requested items that can only be purchased at outside stores. There are obviously items that would not be appropriate to be carried through the parks. These are not permitted: alcohol, drugs, weapons, tobacco products, extremely fragile/large/heavy items.
What are things you will not do? We will not do anything that would be against any theme park's policies. We will not do anything that we consider mean, hateful, or in bad taste. If we cannot believe in an event in our hearts we will not contract to provide it. We will also not plan events for people who request events repeatedly through our pre-event questionnaire but then never book an event. Our resources are limited and we prefer to save our pixie dust for people who are sincerely looking to plan something with us.
What if it rains? All events, with the possible exception of some photo events, take place rain or shine. In the event of an electrical storm there may be a rain delay worked into the event. In the event of a hurricane it is possible an event can be cancelled and the payment will be 100% refunded.
Can you arrange for someone to be the Grand Marshall of the Main Street Parade? We have had many clients who became Parade Grand Marshall during their trips. However, they were all chosen totally by random, by cast members in the Magic Kingdom. We DO NOT arrange for this to happen.
So, what is this event going to cost me? There is no cost for submitting a questionnaire or to preview the ideas we send to you. Each event idea we send to you will have the price for the event listed so that you can make a completely informed decision. If you decide not to book one of the ideas please take a moment to let us know with a simple "no thank you." If you do not extend the courtesy of a reply to your event ideas and then contact us in the future for ideas for another occasion, we will not be able to work with you without a deposit paid in advance. Most of our events start at $295.00 plus the cost of the final gift (if there is one). The average event is between $295.00 and $375.00. We have a few select budget events for $195.00 not including the cost of a gift.
Are there any 'hidden costs? None. Once a quote is given the event remains that price for that event date. Should you make a drastic change to the event by adding on to the length of the event or adding gifts or photography services, this would, of course, be additional.
What is the Personal Disney Shopper? Once upon a time, a long 10 years ago, Gifts of a Lifetime started the first on-line shopping service for the Disney theme parks. In addition to this personal service we also had an extensive shopping cart of theme park merchandise ready to by purchased. Requests for individual items became too time consuming for the narrow profit it provided. Higher gas prices made that profit drop even further. We have tried shopping on good faith but too often people decide after we shop that they are 'just browsing.' Since we are not a store but a service, our time is precious to us and in the past year we curtailed this service so as to better serve our clients with our custom events. We are not offering personal shopping services at this time but we do still have some popular items available on our shopping cart page.
How do I secure the date for my event? Once you have picked your event we require a first payment of $100.00 to hold the date and time of the event for you and begin our work on the event. The balance is due two weeks before the date of the event.
If I have to cancel an event, is my payment refundable? If you have to cancel an event after the first payment of $100.00 is made the payment is non-refundable. However, if you wish to re-schedule the event for another AND if we have time to re-book your original date to another client, we will apply the $100 to your new date not more than 365 days away from the original booked date. If you have to cancel an event after the full payment has become due and paid it is not refundable but we will apply any portion left over the initial $100.00 and minus any perishable costs, to a future event date not more than 265 days away from the original date booked.
What types of payment do you accept? We accept VISA, MASTERCARD, AMERICAN EXPRESS, DISCOVER and US Money Orders. We also accept payments made through PAYPAL.COM.
Should I email my credit card info? NEVER, NEVER! Emails are NOT secure for sensitive information. When you are ready to book an event you should call GOAL at (407) 445-2457.
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