Help with Grand Gathering activities

[chitown_disneylovers]

Hi Everyone,

My family is going to Disney in December. There will be 15 of us. 6 kids ages 2-9 years old.

I cannot find any reviews on the Grand Gathering experiences. We think we want to do the Epcot one and the Animal Kingdom one.
Has anyone done any of these??

We are staying at the Contemporary so we don't want to do the Magical fireworks one since we have MK view and can see the fireworks from there (oh, and my mom HATES boats)

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[laughinplace199]

We did the Safari Celebration Dinner at AK last April. It was great! We had 5 adults and 5 kids in our group (kids ages ranged from 7 yrs to 5 mos), and we all really enjoyed it. You go on the safari ride after it closes to the public. You share a truck with one or two other families, depending on how many people are in each group. The safari drivers go slower than they do during the reg ride, so you can take lots of pics. Also, you have a guide assigned to your group who rides the safari with you. He/She can answer any questions about the animals during the safari.

After the safari, you go to Tusker House for dinner. Everything is brought to your table and served family style. The food was excellent - much better than I had expected. The kids got mac & cheese and chicken nuggets.

There were African musicians playing during dinner and the kids got to go up and dance and try some instruments. There were also some characters there (we had Chip & Dale). Also, the CMs had a couple of small animals for the kids to take a look at and ask questions about.

It was a great night. I highly recommend it.

 

[chitown_disneylovers]

Thanks so much for your response. That sounds like fun. I think we will try that one.

Anyone else try another grand gathering experience??

 

[heartbeeps]

I tried to book a safari for our group of 19; however, it's only available on 5/1 & 5/8... we'll be there 5/2 - 5/6! So be sure to see if they're offering it while you're in town before you get everyone's hopes up too high!

I've read everything I could find on these boards about the GGs. Seems like many feel the Illuminations isn't worth it. I took them at their word and didn't book it b'c it isn't cheap and I didn't want to throw away $$.

We'll get a GG button (I think, I hope) from the Guest Relations. We get a special # too for our ADRs and rooms and such. Apparently that will help to locate all folks in the same area of the resort.

 

[disneymath]

We did the International Dinner/Illuminations Grand Gathering in August 2006. The meal was really good - hot and tasty. The dinner entertainment (Auntie Roz and her DJ) was fun but definitely aimed at the 3 to 9 crowd. At the end Minnie and Goofy dropped by - kids danced around the room and then M&G stayed for photos until everyone who wanted one got one.

Then, the best part of the experience occured. We were led to a private viewing area for Illuminations - I had seen the show a few times before - but man what a view we had that night! The desert selection was awesome - and it was a nice treat to munch on something sweet while watching Illuminations from such a perfect vantage point.

Don't discount this Grand Gathering Experience! We used 2TS credits from our dining plan allotment and thought it was well worth it. (BTW, we were a party of 8 ranging in age from 12 to 66.)

 

[chitown_disneylovers]

to find out when they offer these? My trip is booked through a travel agent and she didn't say anything about them being offered only on certain days. Makes sense that they can't run them every day but we are only there 5 nights.

thank you all for your responses.

It would be really nice to see Illuminations from a good vantage point, and the international buffet sounds good to us because how do you pick just one country in the world showcase when there are 15 people going???

I can't see us agreeing on one place...

 

[heartbeeps]

yep, I called the special # I got for grand gatherings - 1-407-939-7526 and then pressed 1 for English then 2 for Dining. Told the CM I was interested in the safari dinner.

 

[HannaBelle]

We loved the safari. It was like the PP said...just great!

On the other hand, we did not like the illuminations dinner at all! lol

I think if it appeals to your and your family then you should do it! Everyone likes different things.

We really liked the breakfast at the MK, but I did not like "losing" prime ride time to eat a sit down breakfast.

The fireworks cruise was nice and had an unbeatable view of the electric water parade.

 

[chitown_disneylovers]

So what didn't you like about the Epcot one? Was the food bad?

I would love to do the Tony's one but like you said it cuts into park time. I was hoping that Disney would offer that one before park opening. It would make it a lot more special to be in the MK before most of the crowds then be done with breakfast by 9:00 am. That is really the only reason we are going to skip it.

 

[HannaBelle]

The food was not good, but we hate places like Golden Corral and Shoney's. The salad and rolls were good, but everything was just mediocre. They had a little bit of everything, but nothing special.

I felt that Aunt Roz and her side kick were totally lame and way too loud and not funny or entertaining. They did do at father/daughter - mother/son dance that was very charming, but that was the highlight of the program.

The fireworks viewing is standing room only (it is that crowded) and we were so close to the flaming pyrotechnics I was sure we were going to get burned! lol It was just too close for me...and HOT!

We were not particularly impressed with the desserts either.

The good thing that is your large group can sit together and eat without a hassle. There is plenty of room to move around and for the kids to play and be loud. You will receive a pin that is a nice memento and you can have birthdays and special occasions recognized.

Again, this is just my 2 cents...I hate sounding so harsh though! We love Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, The Garden Grill, O'hana (breakfast) and we love love love the Hoop Dee Do. I would do the Hoop Dee Do over the Illuminations dinner anyday!

I also wanted to add that since you are staying at the CR, you could do the O'hana breakfast before a MK day and just loop around on the monorail. We LOVED staying at the CR, the monorail was so convenient! If you have a view of the castle...prepare to the wow'ed!