Magical Gatherings -- whaddaya get out of it?

[gopherit]

Our next trip will technically count as a "Magical Gathering" (8 people and a baby, and at one point during trip, 12 folks and baby.) BUT... if we classify ourselves as such, what benefit would we reap?

It sounds like a pain in the patookus to make reservations, etc. right now if you're DVC doing MG; I guess I want to know if the view is worth the climb.

THose of you doing MG -- why? What made you "enlist" so to speak, instead of just doing all your ressies yourself, etc? What were the perks of this plan?

THANKS!

 

[tjkraz]

The only thing you can really get "free" is the vacation planner. I played around with it for a few minutes. Seems kinda nice if you're trying to coordinate a large group of people. You can post polls and such to find out what the people in your party want to do.

Not sure how well it's working--there have been reports of people having technical difficulties.

You are also eligible to schedule special "Grand Gatherings" events like an Illuminations Dinner & Dessert reception or AK Safari Dinner. These events do cost extra (significantly extra), and the price will really add up when you consider each eligible party has at least 8 paying participants.

If this link works correctly, you can find more info here:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...s/ggLandingPage?id=GrandGatheringsLandingPage

 

[zulaya]

We are going to do MG in Dec 2004 mainly because this is the first time I coud talk both grandmas into coming for a big family trip. We have the only grandchildren on both sides of the family, but my mom never has come with us because she's already been to Disney (yeah, in 1994, once).

So I finally have her coming before my kids aren't totally engrossed in the magic like kids are. We will have a min of 8 people, and possibly as many as 12 if all my sibs can come.

Yeah, some of the events are pricey. But keep in mind, if you read the fine print, the price includes ALL taxes and applicable gratuities. So if you subtract out the 6.5% tax and the 20% that I assume they place on there for gratuities, the base price isn't as outrageous as first perceived.

I intend on booking at least one of the Grand Gathering events, possibly 2, if people want to spend that much. We all have agreed on one already, but the review of the Epcot dinner really put me over the top for that one.

For me, it all comes down to, this type of gathering of our family may never happen again. My MIL has incurable cancer, albeit somewhat controllable. My dad and my mom have their own set of health issues too, although, none as severe as cancer. MG came along at the right time for my family. It's all going to be about spending time with our family and making those memories with those special events that people think are too pricey.

When you are talking about a serious once in a lifetime gathering - because this seriously might be the only time this will happen - I am willing to try it.

 

[d-r]

I've said this here before. We're bringing around 25 family members next Oct., actually I guess 27, and we can't figure out any reason to do it. But we've done a group over 20 before and over 8 several times, so maybe it just isn't something new to us...I don't know. It is hard for us to get in a trip without someone tagging along - I thought the dvd was good so we passed that along over T-giving. I'm glad that they have packaged things together for folks that want to enjoy them, I'm glad that people will have fun that way. I just don't see anything for us really.
DR

 

[MelissathePooh]

My instinctual response is "a whole in your wallet", but then I thought and if people have the extra money and get some extra magic out of it why not.

Does anyone know if they have done away with group dining? Before a party of 8 or more would have to go through group dining to make ps or special arrangements? I would rather do that and have some privacy then the MG stuff - since you have to pay anyway. JMHO.

 

[gopherit]

Originally posted by MelissathePooh
My instinctual response is "a whole in your wallet", but then I thought and if people have the extra money and get some extra magic out of it why not.

Does anyone know if they have done away with group dining? Before a party of 8 or more would have to go through group dining to make ps or special arrangements? I would rather do that and have some privacy then the MG stuff - since you have to pay anyway. JMHO.

See, this is what I was thinking too -- that our group might not have much to gain. Perhaps if we had 4 or 5 families living in different quadrants of the world, or had people with us that hadn't done Disney in forever or would never ever do it again, it would make sense. But in our case (one trip out of many, bringing BIL, SIL, their 2 kids -- and they went with us to WDW last year and will most likely do so again!) I can't see the logic. Plus, I'm worried that if we went the "MG" route, it might only add confusion. I don't want to be shuffled back and forth between MS, DVC, MG -- whatever -- as I try to make my reservations!

As for the "party of 8" issue -- it depends on the restaurant. When I called for HDDR ressies at about 1 yr out, they switched me to the "large parties" line. I asked if this would be my fate later when I needed to make all my other ressies at the 90 day window. The CM said no, only the HDDR and Spirit of Aloha considered "8" as a "large" or extended party. All the other restaurants considered 13 and up to be "large".

If the main benefit of MG is special events that you can pay extra for, I don't think it has any advantages for us. Just getting all of our many many "wanna do / gotta do / can we try it again?" stuff done will more than consume our time quite well!

Thanks for the repsonses, folks, but unless there's another argument, it looks like we should probably pass.

 

[VINN127]

Our group is thinking of booking the Illuminations dinner party. Does anyone know what is included in this package? Is it a buffet? Are beverages included? Whats on the dessert buffet?

Anyone know or has anyone been there?

Thanks