Grand Gathering Planning

[SarahAndMike]

(Sorry for the double post. I also posted in Disney for Families, but I thought this may be a better place for it.)
It looks like I'm on the hook to plan a family trip to "the World" in 2005. I'm looking for help from anyone who has done this before. Right now rates aren't out and I think people may get sticker shock by looking at the rack rates. We're probably going in May of 2005. How does everyone plan this type of thing? The general consensus is that we'll be staying in Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have a list of questions and any help would be appreciated:
1) Do you book the room at rack rate then look for discounts or just wait to book until rates come out?

2) I like to plan everything myself, so I usually don't use travel agents. Do you use a travel agent when planning a trip like this? We'll probably be booking 4 rooms.

3) How hard is it to update reservations for this many people if discounts come out?

4) Does Disney offer group discounts?

I'd love to hear any hints, tips or experiences for people who have gone through this. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[tinawv]

Hi Mike. The Walt Disney World web site has a Magical Gatherings Planner that you can dowload to assist with exactly this thing.

Good luck!

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

Hi Mike! I'm in the middle of this very thing right now myself. We have several families coming from 4 different states! I have talked to group services, but found it easier to let everyone book their own room, package or whatever. I think I remember they told me you had to book at least 10 rooms to get a group discount. Our "group" is splitting up and staying at different resorts based on their financial needs and/or preference. I was also told that if I booked for everyone, I would be held financially responsible if anyone backed out! I know I don't want to do that! We are going through the "Magical Gatherings" planner, and only planning one "gathering" per day as we have several different age groups, interests, etc. I think I'd go crazy trying to keep 20 people (and counting!) together in a theme park! I wish you luck, and keep your fingers crossed for me as well! lol

 

[SarahAndMike]

That sounds like a great idea. So do they let you book the grand gathering special events if you book seperately (Like the fishing)? That sounds like it may be the way to go for me too. Thanks for the help, it's a bit overwhelming. Thank goodness I have so much time to plan.

 

[Disbug]

This past July I planned a week long vacation for 5 families (17 people total). I used a spread sheet to incorporate all the activities. It worked out great! Everyone got a plan left for them at their resort front desk. They knew when and where reservations for Character Breakfasts, Lunch, and Dinner were. Special events like Illuminations Fireworks Cruise, Disney Quest, etc... We all had two way radios and programmed them to a certain channel so we could meet up once we were in the parks. If someone didn't want to get up early for an early entry morning, that was no problem and no one had to worry about waiting around for someone. We knew they could catch up because of the radios!

We had a blast!

Make sure to schedule at least one day off in the middle of your week to let everybody hang out at the pool, sleep in, go shopping or whatever their hearts desired!

We even had an adults night out! My DD15 watched our DD2 in our villa, while the elementary aged kids went to the Cub's Den at WL. We had a fabulous dinner at the California Grill!

For the week we rented the water mice under the Family Plan of $199 for the week for up to 5 people. This was great and used often, especially by the teens and adults!

Typhoon Lagoon was a not to be missed event for the entire crew! We loved it and everyone agreed it was an unexpected amount of fun. There is so much to do at WDW, sure to please every one in your group! Have fun planning...

For some ideas... look for Disbug's Grand Adventures. My trip report from July 2003.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

You can book the "Grand Gatherings" events only if you have 8 or more people interested. When I called, the program had just started, so the cm that I talked to was very new to this. In fact, I was his first customer! He told me that since I was the planner for the group, in order to give us a "gathering number" I needed to book my room as soon as possible, so I booked it right then! The "gathering number" is what will link everyone together. It joins all of your reservations together, regardless if everyone stays at the same resort or not. You then will have a "Magical Gatherings" personal planner who will contact you within 90 days of your trip to let you know if you have enough people for a certain event. You have to give the cm's permission to let others in your group know your plans so they can ask your group if they are interested as well. Your personal planner will also make ps's for you, as well as planning other recreational activities, such as fishing excursions or whatever. I hope this helps!

 

[SarahAndMike]

I think that is exactly what I wanted. Thanks so much for the help. It looks like I should probably be the first to book the room and then have my family do the same. Thanks again fot the help! I think maybe we'll be on the look out for a deal on those walky talkies too.