Choosing a Grand Gathering Experience???

[Feelslikeadream]

We are going in Nov for 9 days. There are 14 of us 7 Adults 7 kids(12,9,9,9,5,4,3) We are registered as a Magical Gathering. So this is my question, we are going to choose one of them ,we are just looking for advice on which one. The two that we are most interested in would be the Epcot or Magical Voyage. If we choose to do the Magical Voyage we would pay for the gathering and use two (T) service somewhere for dinner. (NO DINNER OFFERED ON VOYAGE!!) Or the Illuminations ,Dinner is included and dessert, how is the food? My DH and FIL are very picky.!!!! We will be doing this our last night at the WORLD!!! One more magical evening..... So I am looking for the already experienced with either both or one of the gatherings. Thanks again!!!!


Me DH DS9 DS9 DS5

DD3


SIL DS12 DS9 DD4


My mom Dad


MIL FIL



We are calling this a Once in lifetime....... NOV 1-9 !!!!

 

[theflowerladee]

we did the epcot one and it was nice, i thought the food choices would be from all the countries around the world showcase and it only was about 4 of them. what they had was good. my kids would not participate so that didn't work for me either. the dessert reception out by the lagoon was great but
other than that i probably wouldn't do it again.

 

[jiggerj]

Bumping for more info please!

 

[angelsmom920]

I would also some more info please! I would like to know if anyone has participated in the Animal Kingdom experience! Thanks!

 

[bella01]

We just got back (3-10 & 3-11) from a grand gathering trip. On Friday night we did the Wishes fireworks cruise from the Contemporay. We started at the hotel around 7:30. There was a nice section and we had deserts and got to meet Caption Hook and Mr. Smee. Plenty of time for interaction with the kids. We were then led down to the boats and went out in front of the MK and watched the Electric Light Parade and then Wishes. You have a pirate guide and there is trivia and lots of fun. When we got back Peter Pan was there and time for pictures and such. Great experience only thing I thought was a little lacking was the deserts. Basiclly just pre packaged cooked and drinks. But there was plenty and it was good food.
Saturday morning we did the breakfast at Tony's Town Square. Excellent!!! Everyone gets a plate with eggs, sasauge, bacon, potatoes and a mickey waffle. It is all you can eat! Tons of great food. Then Goofy, Pluto and Chip and Dale come out...again lots of time for interaction. Then there was some dancing and then Mickey came out. Again a great experience.
We did not do the safari or the illumination dinner but both events we did were wonderful.
Hope this helps!!

 

[Disneywoz]

Theflowerladee, are there characters with the Epcot experience? Also, what countries were represented with the meal?

We are also in the planning stages of a Grand Gathering and were thinking about the different options. I thought someone told us that there were characters with all the gatherings except the Safari. Can anyone share any additional info?

 

[Grumpylittlesis]

I'd also like to hear more about the EPCOT experience. We're thinking about booking this one, and I would like a first hand account, if you don't mind. Would it be good for two seven year olds and a 3 year old? Thanks.

 

[Kimber1963]

I'm thinking of doing the fireworks cruise in September and surprising everyone in my "grand gathering". I would like to hear some more experiences with this. THANKS!!!

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

We did the fireworks voyage with our group of 16 in Aug. '04, and it was wonderful! We did it the first night of our trip after dinner at Chef Mickey's. It was a perfect way to plan this, since the meeting spot for the desserts was on the same floor of the resort as the restaurant, we didn't have far to go. As the previous poster said, you have a pirate captain (ours was a hoot! We had a couple on board celebrating their anniversary with their grown kids and grandchildren. He made us all sing "Kiss the girl" and everytime we got to the chorus they had to kiss. Really cute!), they take you on a short tour of the lake, then you watch the EWP, then Wishes. When we got back to the dock it was raining, but Peter Pan was there crowing on the dock anyway! He had a lantern with him, which he told the kids held Tinkerbell. One of the kids asked if she could come out, and he said "Oh no, her light will go out, it's raining, that's why I put her in here for safekeeping". He stayed until every child had their autograph book signed, and picture taken, and was very sweet. I would highly recommend this! We had a wonderful time. We actually have another large group (18) going in Sept./Oct. and are trying to book another one, but there isn't one available on the night we want to go, so we may have to "settle" for the pontoon boats. Good luck with whatever you decide and have a great trip!

 

[junebug]

My family and I did the Grand Gathering at Epcot. I would say there were 6 or so countries represented at the dinner. It was a buffet style, where you went around to the different stations (countries) and chose what you wanted to eat. There was music and an entertaining speaker. But the best part was when the characters (Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy for sure) came out and danced with the audience. The photos of "goofy" dancing with grandma are priceless! My daughter also loved the opportunity to dance with Minnie Mouse! You also got a trading pin, and they took family photos of you with the characters after dinner. The viewing area for Illuminations was great, and there were TONS of deserts to choose from. I would recommend this experience my family and I had a very enjoyable and memorable time. Hope this helps.

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

We have done the Magical Voyage and the Safari dinner at AK.

We really did enjoy both and thought they were both worth the money.

For the Safari, we met at a special spot right before the parade where we got special viewing. Then we went inside the place where their Flights of Wonder show is. We had our own personal CM (there were 9 in our grand gathering) and our own safari jeep. Then we sat at our own table for dinner. Timon and Terk were at the restaurant and they even had some little animals that the kids could pet. Afterwards, they had the buses waiting to take everyone back to their hotel.

We wanted to try the Illumination dinner during our next trip, but unfortunately, it was cancelled due to F&W. We did, though, book the Magical Voyage again, but really wanted both events.

 

[Kimber1963]

For those of you that have done the firework cruise, about how many people are on each boat?

 

[mm lover in Ia]

We also did the fireworks cruise and I have to say it is the best place to watch the fireworks. Also watch the water parade go right by you right before you go to watch the fireworks. We also did the breakfast with Tony and this was awesome as my kids put it. Lots of character time, dancing and wonderful food. The french toast was great and I am not a big french toast fan, but WOW was it good. I do not remember how many people were on each boat though.