Grand Gatherings...LARGE group

[snyderla]

Has anyone begun using the Grand Gathering planning services offered by WDW? I have downloaded the planner, saw it just 1 1/2 weeks after typing up my own questionaire and mailing out 40 of them. I think it will still come in handy when we get closer to travel time and once I get results back from the original questionaire. They were for 78 people, some of whom I believe might not be able to come, but many of them will. From early feedback, I expect at least 50 of us will go. Maybe more, since no one has said no yet. Has anyone had any experience dealing with a Family Reunion of that size at WDW?

We will be traveling from Illinois, most of us, but travel arrangements will be on their own. 4 of my family members live in Florida, but all the rest of us are in IL. I may try to find some good airline fares once we pin down the dates of travel. We are looking at Sept 2005 or feb/summer 2006. (I want to give everyone plenty of time to save and plan. I don't want anyone to not be able to go because there just wasn't enough prep time.) I don't want to do summer, because some of my family will be camping, also too hot and too large crowds, but my sister is a teacher and might have trouble going in sept.
Once we pin down the date, how far in advance can we contact WDW? On the site it said we should pick out our hotel before we contact them, but we will probably be staying at a couple of different places, in the Ft. Wilderness area. Does anyone know if this will matter for Grand Gathering purposes?
I want to have most of the trip be "on your own time", with 3 or so special events planned for everyone to attend. I plan to use some of the Disney Dollarless ideas to help pay for a Disney Grand Gathering Event, but $60 per person is going to be pretty steep for several of my family members. (Most of them have said they prefer the $29.99 Magical Voyage, so we will probably go with that at least.) Does anyone have any other ideas for large group gatherings that are inexpensive? I was thinking of maybe trying to have a meal at Trail's End for all of us, our group of 11 ate there in October on my latest trip there and it was really neat. Good food and a great value. Do they accomodate groups of 50 or more?

Well, this has really gone on and on hasn't it? If anyone has any tips or has worked with Grand Gatherings yet, I'd love to hear about it!

Thank you,
Lori

 

[kadaten]

Hi Lori!

I'm currently planning a trip for 21....we leave in 30 days! Can't wait!

We're doing the Magical Fireworks Voyage, so I'll let everyone know how it goes after we get back. I personally wanted to do the safari, but the trip costs were adding up so we went with the cruise. Plus, my 2 kids love Peter Pan, and he and Hook are the characters at this event, so it'll be fabulous for them!

With that many people, you should get in touch with Disney's Group Sales. They are available to folks with 10 or more rooms, so you'll qualify. The number is (800) 327-2989. We only ended up with 9 rooms, so we couldn't use them, so I'm not sure how much they do. The site mentions room discounts, tickets, special events, etc. See what they can offer! The website for them is

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/waltdisneyworld/reservations/leisuregroups/index?id=LeisureGroup

You're kinda far out for dining, but when you get in that window, you should know that you will have to call a special number for any group over 13 people. I don't have it on hand, but you can get it from the regular (407) WDW-DINE line, or they will transfer you.

I've been using the Grand Gatherings planners. The nice thing is that they can do everything for you (EXCEPT, oddly enough, group dining reservations!) so you can do most things with one phone call. They can reserve rooms, non-group meals, tours, grand gathering events, and most other things. That in and of itself is nice! The fewer phone calls, the better.

Disney will take reservations several years out, but will tell you that the room rates will go up between your reservation and time of your trip, so you will have to pay the rates in effect when you travel. You generally put down a deposit at the current rate, and are responsible for any increases later. One of the great things about the Grand Gatherings program is that it allows you to link all your reservations together, but you don't all have to stay together, so different hotels are easily accomodated.

When you're getting rates, be sure to ask about Florida resident rates. Since you have some family members in Florida, they can get rooms at that rate (and it usually beats any other rate out there). Currently, a FL resident (license required at check-in to prove residency) can reserve 3 rooms at the FL resident rate. So, for our upcoming trip, I reserved 3 of the roomsin my name, and 3 in my husband's name, leaving us only 3 rooms at a higher rate.

Other event ideas....maybe you could reserve one of the special viewing areas for Illuminations. They frequently rope off the patio near France and several other *prime* locations for special receptions, parties, etc. You could do an entire meal, or to make it a little less expensive, maybe just cocktails or desserts. Not sure who handles these sorts of things (we decided not to go this route) but ask your Grand Gatherings planner who to call.

Another thought....maybe you could use the help of a travel agent? I've never used one, but have never had that large a group. One of the other boards I'm on is associated with an agency and everyone raves about them. They are Disney specialistsGive them a call and see what they can do for you.... http://www.themagicforless.com/

Hope some of that helps! I know planning for 21 has been quite an experience....for 50+ it might be a full-time job! Good thing you're starting early! Good luck with it all!!

Katie