Grand Gatherings

[beequeen]

How do I book a Grand Gathering? What are the benefits? We will have a party of 12 to 16 over Thanksgiving. Can I book things like the Candlelight Processional thru them? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[MickeyFan84]

Grand Gatherings experiences are special activities offered only to groups of eight or more and can be booked 180 days in advance. Current offerings include:

Safari Celebration Dinner
Set off on safari in Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park. Take a very special journey across the rolling savannah. Then dine in style at the Tusker House Restaurant with live entertainment, Disney Characters and wild times for all. Theme Park admission is required.
$59.99 per guest* ages 10 and up
$24.99 per guest* ages 3 - 9

International Dinner and IllumiNations Dessert Reception
Indulge yourself in Epcot® with international delights and share the magic of live entertainment that’s sure to please your whole gathering.
Savor homemade food served family style, then enjoy a delicious dessert buffet and a reserved lagoon area viewing of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Theme Park admission is required.
$59.99 per guest* ages 10 and up
$24.99 per guest* ages 3 - 9

Good Morning Gathering
Begin your day with a Magic Kingdom® morning filled with special songs and fun for kids of all ages. Here, classic Disney
Characters join you for breakfast and more at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant. Mickey Mouse himself will be on hand to mingle with guests. This experience also includes reserved viewing of Mickey’s PhilharMagic. Theme Park admission is required.
$29.99 per guest* ages 10 and up
$17.99 per guest* ages 3 - 9

Magical Fireworks Voyage (seasonal availability)
Join us for an evening sail across Seven Seas Lagoon and take in all the magic of our Wishes™ nighttime spectacular from a
one-of-a-kind vantage point. After you “Oooo” and “Ahhh,” you’ll be treated to snacks and beverages, Disney trivia, tall tales, and a visit from Peter Pan.
$39.99 per guest* ages 10 and up
$18.99 per guest* ages 3 - 9

I'm not sure if Grand Gatherings books Candlelight Processional packages - I'll check up on that. HTH

 

[bobbiwoz]

We did a Candlelight Processional with our GG, and I think it was because they gave us the Group booking number and we booked through that line. This was in '04.

Bobbi

 

[lazydazy8]

We just did a GG for a trip I planned for two families plus ours. We had 13 people total. We all got our rooms together (this was b/f we did DVC) and I had our own line to call for questions and whatnot.

The Illuminations Dinner was the only formal GG activity we did. Everyone LOVED it. It was fantastic! If you are doing DVC, I understand that you can still request a GG# so that you can participate in the special activities.

As far as getting ADR's so that you can all sit together, be sure to call as early as you can. Many of the restaurants require that you take the first seating for dinner to stay together.

We hope to do a GG again in November.

 

[Mahusky]

OK ?... can a Grand Gatherings number get created through MS? If we are travleing with another DVC family and have more than 8 do we qualify?

Thanks in adavance!

 

[kellyf2626]

OK ?... can a Grand Gatherings number get created through MS? If we are travleing with another DVC family and have more than 8 do we qualify?

Thanks in adavance!

Good question!! There are about 15 of us going next 12/26-1/1 hoping to stay at OKW, and would love to book a GG special night. Are there any special GG events during the holidays? And would we qualify?

 

[Mike]

OK ?... can a Grand Gatherings number get created through MS? If we are travleing with another DVC family and have more than 8 do we qualify?

Thanks in adavance!

Yes, MS can get a GG # for you but it will take a couple of days. I used MS last year to create my GG. The CM took down all the info and then said they had to contact the GG office. It worked out fine. I just can't recall if they called me back with the GG or if it was mailed to me.

And yes, you will qualify as a GG with 8 or more people.

 

[Inkmahm]

Yes, MS can get a GG # for you but it will take a couple of days. I used MS last year to create my GG. The CM took down all the info and then said they had to contact the GG office. It worked out fine. I just can't recall if they called me back with the GG or if it was mailed to me.

And yes, you will qualify as a GG with 8 or more people.

I just came back to find this thread to say the same thing. Just called MS (hold was about 10 minutes) and the CM filled out some form to go to the GG office for my 12 person family gathering next December. I had to pick an official name for it, which I did. She said someone would contact me (I think by email) to give me the GG number.

Does anyone know anything about the planning tools that can be used for GG? I read somewhere on the DIS board about a concensus building tool. That's exactly what I need because we have 5 different family units in the GG and I can't imagine that everyone will want to do the same thing as each other every day/every meal. I'm the master planner so I"m going to need help with this one!

 

[KristineN]

Hi there...

I had a grand gathering group Dec. 1-10...

The tool you are referring to can be downloaded here. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...lgatherings/mgPlanner?id=MGPlannerLandingPage

I didn't use it very much...it was fun to fool around with it...but I myself didn't find it very useful.

We did all the Grand Gathering events...

except for the Safari, we liked all of them and would do them again.

Good luck

 

[Inkmahm]

Hi there...

I had a grand gathering group Dec. 1-10...

The tool you are referring to can be downloaded here. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...lgatherings/mgPlanner?id=MGPlannerLandingPage

I didn't use it very much...it was fun to fool around with it...but I myself didn't find it very useful.

We did all the Grand Gathering events...

except for the Safari, we liked all of them and would do them again.

Good luck

Thank you! I knew someone here would know what I was talking about.

Can I ask why you didn't like the Safari? The safari at AK is one of our favorites and we've stayed concierge just to be able to do the sunrise safari. I was hoping the GG version would be equal to that.

 

[KristineN]

It really wasn't much different than the ride version...plus at that time of day, there were virtually NO animals to see. I understand that isn't their fault...also, the entertainment was not very good, or entertaining for that matter. Chip & Dale stop by, which is cute...and then they have a a tarantula in a container to show the kids...and a snake. For the amount of money spent...it really wasn't worth it. (for us)

The fireworks cruise was GREAT...we will be doing that again this December. All of us loved it. The International dinner was also worth the money. Enjoyed the entertainment, and the viewing spot for Illuminations was very good. Doing that one again as well.

I guess it is just a matter of opinion...I am glad we tried all of them. If you have the time, my advice is to try them all.

Thank you! I knew someone here would know what I was talking about.

Can I ask why you didn't like the Safari? The safari at AK is one of our favorites and we've stayed concierge just to be able to do the sunrise safari. I was hoping the GG version would be equal to that.

 

[Inkmahm]

It really wasn't much different than the ride version...plus at that time of day, there were virtually NO animals to see. I understand that isn't their fault...also, the entertainment was not very good, or entertaining for that matter. Chip & Dale stop by, which is cute...and then they have a a tarantula in a container to show the kids...and a snake. For the amount of money spent...it really wasn't worth it. (for us)

The fireworks cruise was GREAT...we will be doing that again this December. All of us loved it. The International dinner was also worth the money. Enjoyed the entertainment, and the viewing spot for Illuminations was very good. Doing that one again as well.

I guess it is just a matter of opinion...I am glad we tried all of them. If you have the time, my advice is to try them all.

What kind of boat do they use for the fireworks cruise? I've rented the pontoon boats for the cruise at Epcot but never at Magic Kingdom. And the pontoon boat won't fit all 12 of us so I was thinking of getting it and DH and I staying behind.

At Epcot, is there specific food that you get for dinner with the dinner/fireworks combo? There are some great restaurants I want to take the relatives to so I want to make sure the food is good if we do a Grand Gatherings meal.

Sounds like we'll skip the safari because I like the mornings when the animals are just getting out and are moving around. The sunrise safari is great! Can't do that on the GrandGathering trip though as we aren't staying concierge at AKL. DH and I will do it on our own before the relatives get there.

 

[Mike]

What kind of boat do they use for the fireworks cruise? I've rented the pontoon boats for the cruise at Epcot but never at Magic Kingdom. And the pontoon boat won't fit all 12 of us so I was thinking of getting it and DH and I staying behind.

They have 2 boats and they are big. I'd say they each hold 40 people. They are nothing like the pontoon boats used for the Illuminations cruises.

I have done this twice. The first time was in 2004 and it was very good. The dessert buffet was excellent with a lot of different fresh offerings. During the cruise our Pirate made sure that each kid got a prize - books, telescopes, hooks, etc.

We did it again last year and were somewhat disappointed with the cutbacks. The "dessert buffet" is now pre-packaged snacks - a major cutback and I was somewhat embarassed after describing to my family what to expect (based on my previous experience). They all laughed at me when they saw the cheap offerings. Also, on board the boat our Pirate only gave out a few prizes to kids that answered his questions correctly. He called on the same few kids often and at least 2 of them got 2 prizes. No one in our party got a prize even though they knew most of the answers and were frantically waving their hands in the air to be called upon (no big deal to an adult but the disppointment was visible for the kids).

I was disppointed with the cutbacks and am not sure if we will spend the money to do this again. The view of Wishes is incredible though.

 

[KristineN]

Mike is right...

I'd day 35-40 people on the boat...

He's is also right about the desserts....they were nothing special. But I did know that going into it, so I wasn't particuliarly disappointed. My kids liked the selection...there was coffee, bottled water, etc...so I was fine. Our particular Pirate (captain) was very good...he made sure to pick different kids for the prizes. For us, it was worth it enough to do it again.

For the Illuminations dinner...it was a buffet...the different countries provided dishes for it. From memory:

Germany...brats, sauerkraut, potato pancakes

Italy...Noodles Alfredo

Mexico...flank steak...like a fajita set up

I also remember:

Chicken Parmesan
some kind of fish
different breads & rolls
lots of other stuff...I just can't remember

afterwords you go to the reserved viewing area...they have a dessert buffet set up...not prepackaged stuff. It was good. Coffee, tea, punch