Large group - how are we going to manage?

[Liz]

We are heading to Disneyland in less than 3 weeks now. There will be our family of 4 and my BIL/SIL with their 4 kids making 10 people total.

My DD will have a GAC pass and will be using a wheelchair part of the time but uses alternate entrances even when wheelchairs are mainstreamed. We will most likely park the wheelchair outside with the strollers and she can walk into attractions.

But my question is how do we stay together and enjoy our vacation as a family when I'm sure the whole herd of 10 of us can't use the GAC? Two of the kids in my BIL/SIL's family are small (ages 2 & 4) so we'll be figuring out how to baby swap in the middle of all this too. I have no idea how we're going to work this out. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[BillSears]

I know it's not much of a solution but the only thing I can think of is to send part of your party through the line and then join them with your daughter when they reach the front. I'm not sure about whether this would work with your daughters conditions but I don't think they will be willing to allow all 10 to use the alternate entrance.

I've been to WDW with 20 or so people before. That's how we had to work it anytime more then 6 of us were together.

 

[SueM in MN]

You may find that in less than 3 weeks, it's not very busy, so you may find that the wait in Mainstream lines is not a problem. When we were at WDW in late March, we hit things just right and seldom had a wait of more than 15 minutes. Although we did have a GAC, we rarely used it. So, watch the wait times and you may be surprised.
The GAC is usually given for only up to 6 people (the person with a disability plus 5 others). Often the reason for this is that the accessible/alternate entrance is not big enough for more than that. Also, the wheelchair seating for parades/ shows often gets quite full and they limit it to the person with a disability plus one other.
You would benefit from using fastpasses as much as possible. If your DD has a problem with wating in.line, this would limit your wait to usually less than 15 minutes (which is often the wait at alternate entrances anyway). Plus you wouldn't have to wonder if the whole party can come in line with you; as long as they had a fastpass, not a problem. Baby swapping is done on many of the fastpass lines too. If your DD needs the wheelchair entrance because she needs extra time for boarding, most of those areas can't accomidate 10 people, so you could wait in line together until the point where the alternative line is sent to the exit and then meet up with the rest of your party after the ride. Sending part of the party thru while you and your DD wait at the alternative entrance won't really work for most rides, because of limited waiting space and the alternative baording area is often at the exit where you won't be able to see them.
When we have had large groups together, we found it really hard to keep that many people together. Especially with kids, someone has to go to the bathroom or is hungry or needs a rest when the rest don't. We've found it more enjoyable to split up into smaller groups (they don't necessarily have to be family groups - maybe all the girls together and all the boys togeter) and meet up later for snacks, meals and shows where we know being together will work out.

 

[Tiiiigergirl]

Hi Liz!

Haven't had any ideas since our Utah Dis meet. All two of us!!!!! Just wanted to say hello and have a marvelous time. Let me know when you're back so we can get together again.

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

10 in a group is very difficult to manage, even if all are healthy without special needs. It's usually not a problem if things are not busy, but when they are, it can be very difficult.

Why not plan to spend part of the day together, have lunch and then split up for the remainder of the day?