Well, how would you feel if someone came into your yard and tried to hold a ceremony there, without your permission? It's the same issue of private property; Disney has sold you the right to stay at their resorts, visit their theme parks/restaurants, and use recreational activities, but they did NOT sell you the right to hold a wedding ceremony on their property. They lose money every time someone tries to do this without going through FTW.
As far as limiting your activities on Disney property, they certainly do in other matters. If you take a backstage tour like Backstage Annimation at MGM, you aren't allowed to videotape what you see back there. Weddings aren't the only issue where Disney jealously guards its rights.
And no, I don't think at all that you're starting a debate! You and probably many others feel that it would be okay to hold a ceremony on Disney property without their permission, but saying that it should be allowed doesn't make it so, unless perhaps you take action and start a successful petition. I'm just letting you know the facts as they have been passed along to Disney brides by Disney's Fairytale Weddings department, and we have been given these reasons why Disney WILL interrupt and HAS interrupted wedding ceremonies on their property before.
I just would hate for someone to get into something without knowing the facts about this, and having their ceremony interrupted; it would be an extremely embarrassing and unpleasantly memorable experience which I'm sure they'd like to avoid! They may get lucky and have no one notice, but for someone like me who plans to the last detail, the risk of interruption and being escorted away is not worth it. I'd just do something that I know other brides HAVE done in the past, like rent a suite with a great view and get married on the balcony, if I were really opposed to going through Disney to get married there. (Though their intimate add-ons are $2100 inclusive of outdoor ceremony site, bouquet, limo, cake, champagne, etc. which is a GREAT deal actually!)
Cheers!
Heather P