Family of 10 - suggestions?

[03Poohmom]

Hello! My husband & I are going to Disney with our adult kids and grandkids (almost 3 yrs old and 9 months old). Staying off-site at 5 bedroom in Windsor Hills resort (I know on-site is great, but we are set on this). Our group rented 2 vehicles. Bought 4 day park passes. We arrive 1/31/26 and leave 2/7/26 (travel days are not park options for us). We've been many times when the kids were growing up, but this is a first in a long time. Used this site many times to plan, but things have certainly changed at WDW. We are not really interested in paying for what used to be free fastpasses (I've been ranting about this for months lol). We are all early morning people, so plan to get to the parks as early as possible. Looking for positive advice on traveling with a group this large. I've always used the undercover tourist crowd calendar. If you traveled as a group like this, please share your best advice.

 

[leebee]

We were only a group of 5 last May, stayed in 2 connecting rooms at AllStarMovies, no rental car, 3 day park passes (didn't do Hollywood Studios). With 10 of you, just be prepared to split up sometimes. We had almost all our meals together, but when we were in the parks, sometimes DH and I would take the LittleGuy and let his parents explore on their own, sometimes they'd take him and leave us to do our own thing, and much of the time, we toured together. As much as I am strongly opposed to giving the Mouse more of my money, when DD and I traveled in November, I bought her a LLSP to Guardians and we had LLMP for Disney Studios. If you are buying LLMP, do it for Magic Kingdom. Those lines are long, especially at Peter Pan and Pooh- easily 45 minutes- as well as on any of the coasters. Next time we go to Disney with all 5 of us, I'll spring for the LLMP for MK. OH.. and we'll stay offsite in a pool home. LittleGuy wanted pool time every day!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Early won’t get you very far except MK RD for Adventureland for JC or Tiana since that isn’t open for Early entry. Aside from that the top attraction lines will basically already be filled when you can get in line due to hotel early entry. (EE isn’t just all Disney hotels but also a slew of off-site.)

You’ll have better luck hoping into a line for a popular ride right before closing so plan to stay late if nighttime entertainment plans allow a ride after.

I’d consider a TP sub to help plan. With 1 day in each park, no EE and no LLs you will be in thick of crowds.

 

[LoveToDisney]

Parks have shorter hours in early Feb. it’s a nice time to go. Crowds are lighter.
I bought LLs for our big group for a March Spring break trip 2 years ago (definitely needed), but I don’t think I would buy MP for early Feb. I’d probably just buy SP for the popular attractions. Of course, I was paying for everyone, so that’s a chunk of change. If each person pays their own, perhaps I would do all the LLs. We were on-site though so we could reserve best rides @ 7 days. On-site is nice because those who wish to go back and swim, stay at the resort, sleep in or park hop can do so with ease.
BTW, I reminded my group not to walk as a big herd which blocks the walkway. I encouraged 2x2’s and stepping to the side when they needed to converse and decide something. We also had a couple of elder ECV users so that makes a difference.

 

[danceintherain]

I would get a list of everyone's top thing to see/do in each park, and go from there. If there are enough duplicates, then top 3 could be helpful.
I haven't done Disney without touringplans in a long time. Typically, I still buy LL, but when I don't have it, that helps me figure out what to do next.
Large groups just generally move more slowly, so I would split up into groups of 3-4 based on interests. Maybe plan one thing to do together first thing....or later in the day if you don't have people willing to get there early enough.
I would have a few conversations with your group, especially since it sounds as if you haven't traveled all together. Even "we're early risers" means different things to different people. My husband is a morning person, but still struggles with getting up "early" on vacation even though the kids are usually up anyway.

 

[omniscientmommy]

I would say knowing that the grandkids will need naps you should plan to be separated. Take 2 cars and be flexible. Especially if the 9 month old is taking 2 naps a day. Still that can be especially hard. They might only make it to the park once. We were just there in November with my daughter who was 14 months, and we really could only spend a max of 2 to 3 hours at a park a day. My in laws knew that they were just going to have to do things on their own.

Also I prefer touringplans.com for their crowd calendar. It is a paid subscription for the year, but I find that we have gone enough to make use of their calendar. Also they help give you plans for your day.

 

[Miller_91]

My best advice is when you come to a fork in the road, which will happen with groups (ie which ride next, where to eat, etc), is to take a moment to pause and remember where you are and who you’re with. It’s tough to beat spending time with family at Disney.

I also echo above comments with trying to find a few things folks want to do/prioritize so you can check those off, too.

Little ones are unpredictable…we took our oldest (now 3, was 11mo) a few years ago and it went really well. The worst part was a diaper change on the airplane. We recently went back with our 2nd (1.5yr) and they both did great. We would split up a few times per day and let those who wanted to do specific rides (Tiana, Space Mountain, etc) do those while a few of us let the little ones roam or we would ride the tea cups 10 times. For both trips, our park days were from park open to about 630/7pm. One night we went to MVMCP and stayed out until 830 or so..again they both did really well.

For LLs, it was our first time using them…we enjoyed being able to book some rides that we knew everyone could do (Small World, Pirates, Pooh). We are undecided if we will use again moving forward.