Magical gatherings

[Lovetoplanx3]

Hello,

I have been planning for a while but I am still confused on the Magical gatherings option. We will be a family of 11 (7 adults, 4 children all under 4). I am wondering if it is worth it to get signed up for magical gatherings or how that really works? What are the benefits to this process? We are going t be in WDW for Mother's Day next year and would really like to get into CRT for breakfast. So I want to make sure I call the right (and Best) place to get a reservation. So If I say I am a party of 11 will the automatically transfer me over to the group line or can I still get the reservation. I knwo that seconds count for the CRT reservations so I want to make sure I have the right process.

Thank you in advance for any information you can provide.

 

[Disney Crazy Debbie]

I, too, am planning a magical gathering for summer of '09. Like you, we are hoping for a group of around 11 or 12 people with 5 children, 7, 5, 4, 2 and 1 1/2. I am really looking forward to several of the magical gathering events like a pirate/princess party, dessert (VIP) Earth's reflections at EPCOT, a cruise on the Seven Sea Lagoon, and, of course, at least one meal a day with everyone. I know that we will also want to book at CRT because we have at least one princess follower.

 

[HannaBelle]

For a group of 9 or more people you will need to call Group Dining directly. Their number is 407-939-7707.

The disney website has information about "Magical Gatherings" and "Grand Gatherings".

The "Magical Gatherings" is just a marketing thing to make you think about the trip in terms of being a magical trip for all ages.

"Grand Gatherings" falls under the "Magical Gathering" heading and offers merchandise, planning help and special experiences. All of it for a price, except the extra planning help!

As far as Magical/Grand Gatherings allows you to "link" your reservations together. So, if you are staying at the same resort, you will be more likely to have rooms next to each other.

When you call in to make reservations for dining for groups of 9 or more, call group dining.

When you call in to make reservations for the "Grand Gathering Exclusive Experiences", call Grand Gatherings and don't press the option that asks if you are making dining reservations. (Made this mistake and we are missing the safari this trip b/c of it!!! )

Here is a link for more info on their experiences...

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...roducts?id=GrandGatheringsSpecialProductsPage

We really enjoyed the experiences. They are geared towards large groups and there is plenty of room for the kids to wiggle. They have characters and photo ops with each event. The safari was by far our favorite!!!

For CRT, I was not able to get my ressies for 14 at the 180+10, but I was able to get it on the 180 day mark without a problem. I just called group dining at 6:59:45 AM EST.

We went in 2006 as a group of 12 and we are going back this December as a group of 14.5...we cannot wait!!! So, I am still pretty new at figuring all of this out. If there is someone out there with a better understanding of how all of this works I would LOVE to hear it!!! It is a lot of pressure trying to make sure everyone from newborn to grandparents are happy!