Disney Regular now Planning For Big Group - Advice Needed

[jgl130]

Ok, so I’ve gone every year for the past eight years, either solo, with my sister or a trip with sister and parents, so have planning for four adults down to a science.

A group of friends and I are going January 15-21, 2022. Here’s the breakdown…

- Me (Disney regular)
- Family 1: 2 adults, 4 adults if her parents come for part of the trip, 3 kids ages 9, 6, 4 (1st trip for kids, adults haven’t been since they were kids)
- Family 2: 2 adults, 2 kids ages 7 and 18mos (multiple trips with most recent in 2016)

So a total of 10, maybe 12.

We’re all booking our hotel and park hopper tickets on our own so everyone is responsible for their own financial commitment there. Once everyone books, we’ll link as Friends and Family for the rest of the planning.

We’ve also all agreed we know we don’t have to roll as a group except for the day we get the VIP tour. We’re thinking plan one meal together a day, and everyone getting the same park passes, so if the kids want to be together they can. Ex. F1 kids 9/6 and F2 kid 7 are all Star Wars fans and have RotR boarding group, but F2 has a Kona Cafe breakfast reservation, so F2 sends kid 7 with F1 for the morning and meet up at lunch.

We’re also ok with knowing we may need to split into smaller numbers to get dining reservations. If fast pass comes back before then, we’ll need to figure that out if we want to do one or two fast passes together.

For those who have planned for big groups, any other tips/tricks? What am I missing that I need to know for planning for a group this size? Should only one family get the memory maker, then download the photos for everyone post trip?

TIA!!

 

[Beckyb3]

So I planned a trip for eleven pre COVID. It was definitely the most difficult one I planned. One caution if fast pass comes back is that there is no way to transfer booking ability for a minor between people. Meaning I had booked all our initial fast passes for the whole group but one day we split up and the other families weren’t able to adjust fast passes for their kids because they were linked to me for plans. This was also annoying when my daughter was sick and I stayed home with her because even my husband couldn’t adjust our other daughters plans only his own. My recommendation would be to coordinate fast pass booking versus taking ownership of the other family if that’s even applicable. The other thing which I think you realize already is to split up the dining reservation. There was only maybe one restaurant of all the ones we booked that I could book as a party of ten. All others I split and booked as close in time as I could get. We never had an issue sitting together. One place we had two tables back to back but all others they were able to seat us together.

Also to answer your other question, we did share a memory maker but the easiest way to do this is to allow access to your MDE account so make sure you are comfortable with that otherwise it’s a hassle to download and share the photos.

I honestly think you are approaching it with the right mentality knowing you don’t have to do everything together that’s when it can get really stressful. I also found it stressful to plan for a first timer because i worried about making it a perfect first trip.

 

[jgl130]

One caution if fast pass comes back is that there is no way to transfer booking ability for a minor between people.

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[SkyGuy]

Ok, so I’ve gone every year for the past eight years, either solo, with my sister or a trip with sister and parents, so have planning for four adults down to a science.

A group of friends and I are going January 15-21, 2022. Here’s the breakdown…

- Me (Disney regular)
- Family 1: 2 adults, 4 adults if her parents come for part of the trip, 3 kids ages 9, 6, 4 (1st trip for kids, adults haven’t been since they were kids)
- Family 2: 2 adults, 2 kids ages 7 and 18mos (multiple trips with most recent in 2016)

So a total of 10, maybe 12.

We’re all booking our hotel and park hopper tickets on our own so everyone is responsible for their own financial commitment there. Once everyone books, we’ll link as Friends and Family for the rest of the planning.

We’ve also all agreed we know we don’t have to roll as a group except for the day we get the VIP tour. We’re thinking plan one meal together a day, and everyone getting the same park passes, so if the kids want to be together they can. Ex. F1 kids 9/6 and F2 kid 7 are all Star Wars fans and have RotR boarding group, but F2 has a Kona Cafe breakfast reservation, so F2 sends kid 7 with F1 for the morning and meet up at lunch.

We’re also ok with knowing we may need to split into smaller numbers to get dining reservations. If fast pass comes back before then, we’ll need to figure that out if we want to do one or two fast passes together.

For those who have planned for big groups, any other tips/tricks? What am I missing that I need to know for planning for a group this size? Should only one family get the memory maker, then download the photos for everyone post trip?

TIA!!

VIP tours only accommodate 10 - all are counted in a VIP tour, including infants, so if your numbers end up at 11 or 12, you will have to book (and pay for) two VIP tours.

 

[jgl130]

VIP tours only accommodate 10 - all are counted in a VIP tour, including infants, so if your numbers end up at 11 or 12, you will have to book (and pay for) two VIP tours.

Thanks! I forgot to add if we go over the 10, someone from F2 will stay back with the 18mo old.

 

[LovesTimone]

Ok, so I’ve gone every year for the past eight years, either solo, with my sister or a trip with sister and parents, so have planning for four adults down to a science.

A group of friends and I are going January 15-21, 2022. Here’s the breakdown…

- Me (Disney regular)
- Family 1: 2 adults, 4 adults if her parents come for part of the trip, 3 kids ages 9, 6, 4 (1st trip for kids, adults haven’t been since they were kids)
- Family 2: 2 adults, 2 kids ages 7 and 18mos (multiple trips with most recent in 2016)

So a total of 10, maybe 12.

We’re all booking our hotel and park hopper tickets on our own so everyone is responsible for their own financial commitment there. Once everyone books, we’ll link as Friends and Family for the rest of the planning.

We’ve also all agreed we know we don’t have to roll as a group except for the day we get the VIP tour. We’re thinking plan one meal together a day, and everyone getting the same park passes, so if the kids want to be together they can. Ex. F1 kids 9/6 and F2 kid 7 are all Star Wars fans and have RotR boarding group, but F2 has a Kona Cafe breakfast reservation, so F2 sends kid 7 with F1 for the morning and meet up at lunch.

We’re also ok with knowing we may need to split into smaller numbers to get dining reservations. If fast pass comes back before then, we’ll need to figure that out if we want to do one or two fast passes together.

For those who have planned for big groups, any other tips/tricks? What am I missing that I need to know for planning for a group this size? Should only one family get the memory maker, then download the photos for everyone post trip?

TIA!!

I think that you are really on track here, with everyone staying and planning for hotel and tickets this makes thing so much easier... Everyone financial situation is different this takes the pressure off of everyone from the start...

Meeting up for meals can be done, Like starting the day with a character breakfast was always a good plan.. then as the day goes on people spread out and go their separate ways. Not unless you have rope drop folks or commando style touring... then breakfast would not be your best bet..

As far as TS, I would suggest lunch, easier to get ADR wise sometimes - and this would be a nice break for everyone, to sit down get some air conditioning, and have someone wait on you. Take a breather so to speak... I know a few times by dinner time the last thing we wanted to do was have a TS meal, instead we would head back to the resort, and get in the pool and just do QS for dinner. Heck DH and I still do this and our DD is married and a mom..

Another thought is if your meeting for ADR's, make sure everyone has seen the menu and the price points so that there are no surprises, this can make thing awkward for sure. We have had some awkward moments when people realize what the price are at TS restaurants... some even at QS options... So putting this out there from the beginning is important...

Have a wonderful time...

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

I've done one large group stay, and I was a child. I cannot stress this enough. Pre-plan and strictly adhere to a time period where parties are split and broken down into 2s or 3s. It is imperative in my opinion that a portion of some day or days (and it can be as less as 60 - 90 minutes) is forcibly broken down into small groups. That way there is some good personal time and usually that break from large group will cause less aggravation and fighting between children (and adults). It is a good mental health break.