December 2023 for 10 people, need help planning.

[kikodisney]

Hello everyone, I'm new here and have many questions on how to plan a Disneyland trip for 10 people.

This December, several of my wife's family members from back east are going to be in town for the holidays. Eight of the group would like to go to Disneyland, and we are trying to figure out the best way to go about planning it.

First off, let me say that I have not gone to or PAID for Disneyland tickets in a long time. In 2012, I won a 4-pack of Park hopper tix from a local radio station that included a 1-night stay at the Paradise Pier Hotel. In 2008 I won a basic 4-pack of tickets. Before that I went with family, and they always paid.

I don't know how much things have changed over the years. I've heard about reservations being required and how the "Fast-Pass" is now something you pay extra for. Also, with the new Star Wars Land making it more crowded and increasingly long wait times for other popular rides.

Some Facts:
I am situated in Southern California. So about 3 hr round trip (12 person passenger van rental). It will be a 1 day trip only, with no extras or luxuries. They will be here the standard Christmas vacation time between Dec 16 and Jan 2nd, but let's focus on Dec 20-23.


As for paying, what Credit Card deals are out there for Disney purchases? I have excellent credit and have my eye on a 3-month $2,000 spend, get $500 cash back card that I could easily manage. Are there any better offers you know of?

What about discounts, there used to be a local resident discount, AAA or anything similar?

I'd appreciate all the info I can get.

Thanks

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

The most important thing I see for you is to manage expectations of what people want to do and the reality of what it will be like and what you will actually do.

You have a large group of people and a short park time during a busy , high crowd time.

Before we give you any advice, some basics from you.

1. What time would you like to be walking through the entrance gate. 30 minutes before that is when you will get off the shuttle at Downtown Disney. 20 minutes before that is when you will get out of your car at Mickey and Friends parking structure. 10 minutes before that is when you will arrive at Mickey and Friends Parking structure. So basically 1 hour after you arrive at the parking structure you will be walking through onto Main Street. I. allowing that time because you will have to find a parking space, get everyone out of the vehicle, go down to ground level, go through bag security, wait for a shuttle, journey time from the parking structure to Downtown Disney, walk through Downtown Disney, wait in line at a turnstyle and then get everyone scanned through the turnstyle.

2. Once you have a realistic idea of the time you will actually enter the park, then it will be easier to help you with how to plan your day. The time of day you enter the park matters in relation to crowd patterns, crowd levels and wait times.

3. Are you getting park hopper tickets or just doing one park, if so which park.

4. What are the main interests of the group, thrill rides, shows, character meet and greets, do people want to cram in as much as possible, or just have a wander, soak up the atmosphere and go on one or two rides.

5. Food, any dietary restrictions, do you want a leisurely meal or food on the go

 

[theluckyrabbit]

The most important thing I see for you is to manage expectations of what people want to do and the reality of what it will be like and what you will actually do.

You have a large group of people and a short park time during a busy , high crowd time.

Before we give you any advice, some basics from you.

1. What time would you like to be walking through the entrance gate. 30 minutes before that is when you will get off the shuttle at Downtown Disney. 20 minutes before that is when you will get out of your car at Mickey and Friends parking structure. 10 minutes before that is when you will arrive at Mickey and Friends Parking structure. So basically 1 hour after you arrive at the parking structure you will be walking through onto Main Street. I. allowing that time because you will have to find a parking space, get everyone out of the vehicle, go down to ground level, go through bag security, wait for a shuttle, journey time from the parking structure to Downtown Disney, walk through Downtown Disney, wait in line at a turnstyle and then get everyone scanned through the turnstyle.

2. Once you have a realistic idea of the time you will actually enter the park, then it will be easier to help you with how to plan your day. The time of day you enter the park matters in relation to crowd patterns, crowd levels and wait times.

3. Are you getting park hopper tickets or just doing one park, if so which park.

4. What are the main interests of the group, thrill rides, shows, character meet and greets, do people want to cram in as much as possible, or just have a wander, soak up the atmosphere and go on one or two rides.

5. Food, any dietary restrictions, do you want a leisurely meal or food on the go

Great questions, the answers to which will really help people here focus their answers on the OP's specific needs.

OP, what is the age range of the members in your group? Any seniors? Any little ones (how little)? Any mobility issues for anyone (e.g. wheelchair, ECV, stroller, etc.)? You will find detailed help with credit card deals on the Budget Board. For one day tickets, there usually aren't any discounts.

 

[kikodisney]

We plan on leaving as early as possible, have breakfast nearby, then be at Disney at opening.

The group of 10 consists of my wife and I, who are in our late 30's. A married couple in their late 40's with a 4, 7, 9 year old girls. A 20yr old, her 18yr old sister and her 15yr old brother. So my wife and I would essentially be chaperoning her nephews, while the family of five would be on their own.

We focus on the big thrill rides and Star Wars Land, while they will focus on the family attractions. Meals and snacks will depend on each person's preference, no group meals aside from breakfast.

I also just saw that the non blackout dates for regular 1 day tickets are Dec 20, 21, 22, so that helps with the planning.

 

[chezcurrie]

We plan on leaving as early as possible, have breakfast nearby, then be at Disney at opening.

The group of 10 consists of my wife and I, who are in our late 30's. A married couple in their late 40's with a 4, 7, 9 year old girls. A 20yr old, her 18yr old sister and her 15yr old brother. So my wife and I would essentially be chaperoning her nephews, while the family of five would be on their own.

We focus on the big thrill rides and Star Wars Land, while they will focus on the family attractions. Meals and snacks will depend on each person's preference, no group meals aside from breakfast.

I also just saw that the non blackout dates for regular 1 day tickets are Dec 20, 21, 22, so that helps with the planning.

Don’t stop for breakfast before entering if you have a 90 min drive. To be through the gates at 8 you’d need to be at the parking structure at 7, which means you are leaving at 5:30. I’d even add more cushion if you are taking the 5 as the lines to get into parking during busy times can back all the way to the freeway exit, adding 30+ min. With only one day during a busy time of year this is not the time for breakfast. Pack snacks and plan on grabbing something in park or have an early lunch.

At that time of year, only 1 day and your diverse group I feel G+ will be necessary. For you, your wife and nieces/nephews I would have each of the kids choose their top ride they want to experience and prioritize that (note: rise of the Resistance is an additional $25pp to do the LL.) Same idea/advice for the family of 5 - have their girls choose (each) the most important thing (ride or experience like a meet and greet) and prioritize those, utilizing G+ when available.

I would suggest having one or two meet up points - perhaps lunch and the later Christmas parade, then you can scatter or choose to stay together.

Read up on G+ as well as the other couple so that you understand how to use it. Enjoy all the Christmas ambiance and set expectations that you will not be able to accomplish everything and that is ok. Knowing what us most important for each member of family unit is key. For some it may be the holiday entertainment, for others food/snacks, or characters or rides. You get where I’m going with this. If you only focus on one aspect someone (esp a kid) is bound to feel unsatisfied so give each person agency to voice their #1 priority, whatever that might be.

P.S. has anyone in the group been to WDW? If so there are things that can be skipped to make decision making/focus easier.

 

[starry_solo]

Honestly, I would not be planning on everyone being awake when you want them to.

You need at least 2 rental cars.

One for you, your wife, the 20yr old, her 18yr old sister and her 15yr old brother.
The other for the family of 5 (late 40's with a 4, 7, 9 year old girls)

Those girls are going to likely want to spend time in Fantasyland. All of them won't be tall enough for the big thrill rides.
You're going to be doing at a busy time period.

So, one-day park hoppers with Genie+ is what you need.

Grab breakfast at a drive-thru McDonald's / Burger King at least 3 hours before you leave, if you want to really have to have breakfast before you get to the park. Plan for 90-minutes for the drive, but with traffic, it could be longer.

You need to arrive at the parking lot/structure at least 1 hour before park opening.

For the credit card deal, the one you found (spend $2000, get $500 cash back) sounds like the best deal. But there's another thread that talks all about credit card deals. Considering that this trip is in a little over 2.5 months, you'd best apply for the credit card ASAP.

Like the prior poster said, plan to meet up with the rest of the family at least 2x that day. Could be a nice lunch and then a parade sit-down. Or a quick service lunch too.

 

[twodogs]

Regarding discounted tickets for California residents, when they have them (which is not all of the time), each person using that type of ticket has to bring proof of California residency to the gate (you can’t buy them for friends and family that are not California residents).

For your group that wants to focus of SWGE and thrill rides, you will regret it terribly if you don’t get G+. Especially at this time of year. If you don’t have G+ and understand how to maximize it (many threads on here explain how), your lines may be 1-2.5 hours per ride. We just flew home tonight, and waits were over 2.5 hours at some points for the headliners (even Buzz was an hour at one point?!).

You may also want to budget for the ILL$ for either ROTR or RSR, if you plan to ride both. You can only RD one or the other to try to avoid either paying individually for them or waiting 60+ minutes (or much longer, RSR was 90-120 this weekend). You can single rider RSR, but even that line can get long after the first morning hour or so (and you won’t ride together; they split your party to fill empty seats, but your wait is shorter). If you don’t mind riding separately, there is also SR on SM, Matterhorn, Incredicoaster, MFSM and maybe a few others I am not thinking of.

 

[kikodisney]

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

As far as the long wait times. I remember Star Tours and Soarin' being an extremely long wait back in June 2012. Indiana Jones is all I remember from 2008 and I think we even used F.P. I loved Space M. and Matterhorn as a teenager, but have not ridden them since the mid 90's.

Jungle C, Pirates, Haunted M, Submarine, Autopia, Small W are the usual rides we never miss. Even caught Captain EO in '08

As far as snacks, what are we allowed to bring? Have the rules changed? I remember my brother taking lots of snacks in his toddler's stroller many years back. I could easily do PB&J and energy bars as those fuel me through mountain biking and hikes. What about metal water bottles, are they allowed? On the website I read details about storing coolers in the rentable lockers, so that seems to be a really good option for us.

 

[chezcurrie]

Thanks everyone for the great advice.

As far as the long wait times. I remember Star Tours and Soarin' being an extremely long wait back in June 2012. Indiana Jones is all I remember from 2008 and I think we even used F.P. I loved Space M. and Matterhorn as a teenager, but have not ridden them since the mid 90's.

Jungle C, Pirates, Haunted M, Submarine, Autopia, Small W are the usual rides we never miss. Even caught Captain EO in '08

As far as snacks, what are we allowed to bring? Have the rules changed? I remember my brother taking lots of snacks in his toddler's stroller many years back. I could easily do PB&J and energy bars as those fuel me through mountain biking and hikes. What about metal water bottles, are they allowed? On the website I read details about storing coolers in the rentable lockers, so that seems to be a really good option for us.

I was just talking to my sister about waiting hours (hours!) for captain EO back in the day. Lol That said, waits these days are completely different because the tolerance of guests is different. So again: you need G+. Read some of the recent posts about this Last weekends crowds and selling out of G+ if you need to convince yourself. With a group that big and kids don’t try and just wing it standby.

As for what kind of food you can bring in, a great example i was told is: snacks are fine but anything that looks like a picnic they will ask you to store in a locker and eat in the picnic area. so for example a pre-made pbj or ham and cheese, energy bars and fruit, fine. A cooler with bread, lunch meat, cheese and condiments - leave outside the gates. I routinely bring in my yeti and you can get ice water at any quick service location. Hope this helps.

 

[irlandaise]

Here's a map of water refill stations:

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/bottle-filling-stations/

 

[twodogs]

We were there this past weekend, and crowds were insane. Yours will be similar since it is so close to a holiday (like ours was). This is a random photo I took of the area by POTC, showing the mass of humanity. You can see the sign for the end of the line for POTC, which at this time had about a 50 minute wait. This was Sunday at 12:30pm. Get G+ or be prepared for very, very long waits.

 

[Caseheidi]

Some great advise here. I would add that you might watch some of the videos on YouTube that people shoot on how to make the most of a busy park and using G+. My preference is to watch Molly with Mammoth Club as she just does a great job showing how to make it work. Also for those who have never been and looking to find their priorities, there are some great video's of rides to help people know what to expect - especially the little ones who might be nervous. We have been fairly often over the last 20 years (about every other year) and I still enjoy the videos and learn new ideas.

Another thought, have you checked the days during that week to be sure there are still reservations available? There are tons of people who go during winter break from school, and there is always the possibility of the reservations being full. If there is availability, you really want to get them asap! Also be aware that G+ will also give you PhotoPass, and learn how this works. It is a great service you will want to take advantage of since you are paying for it with the Genie +.