Park Strategies for a 30+ Person Group?

[Hydra]

Hi everyone!

First some background! I'm 60 days out from my Disney Wedding trip! We'll have about 55 guests at the French Quarter, but about 30-35 want to spend every moment of the week with us Mon-Sun. I am very happy I get to go to my favorite place with all of my favorite people! But... I am getting a little flustered by thinking of attack strategies.

Anyone have advice for a giant mob of obnoxious adults? Here are park and resort ideas for the week:

Mon, May 2nd: AK in the AM, Jellyrolls at the Boardwalk in the PM
Tue, May 3rd: Pool day
Wed, May 4th: MK in the PM after the Wedding (park open until midnight)
Thurs, May 5th: Epcot drink around the world
Fri, May 6th: HS and Star Wars Day

Any suggested dining options for groups this large? I have only ever been to the Mouse with 2-5 people, help!

 

[leebee]

With FP+ and ADRs, it's going to be a nightmare with a group of this size. Have you asked your Disney wedding planner for suggestions? I'd guess that Disney might even have a department that deals with this kind of thing, but it's only a guess. You know, you really have more than enough to do, planning and getting ready for the wedding. I think I'd determine the people to whom I am closest (so for me, that'd be DH, my immediate family and DH's) and make park, ADR, and FP+ plans for us. I'd then let everyone else know our itinerary but ask them to make their own plans, based on what ours are and how much time they want to be around us. I just can't see you getting ADRs for a group of 35 only 60 days in advance!

 

[pork]

The fast passes shouldn't be to hard as long as you add everyone in the group to your friends and family list one person can make them all. I'd make them as soon as possible though so it's easy to get times all together.

 

[MichiganScott]

Tell everyone you love them very much, to go their separate ways in the parks and you'll see them at the wedding

 

[Alesia]

Tell everyone you love them very much, to go their separate ways in the parks and you'll see them at the wedding

if you want everyone to still like each other at the end of the week, this is what I would do. 30+ people staying together all day, every day for a week at Disney is a recipe for disaster.

If you really want to try it, I suggest just planning what you want to do, giving everyone copies, and telling them that they can tag along if they want.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

Spending all that time with everyone is not going to go well. Plus, you're going to be so stuck on trying to stick together, there's no possible way to visit with everyone in a group that size while trying to navigate the park. Plan on or two meals together and then let everyone go their separate ways during the rest of the trip. Are you going to want to go to a park after getting married? Is anybody? Weddings are so exhausting.

 

[scrappinDW]

We will be there the same week [at Riverside and in different parks]. Don't forget about the Flower and Garden Show in Epcot.

 

[Robo]

if you want everyone to still like each other at the end of the week, this is what I would do. 30+ people staying together all day, every day for a week at Disney is a recipe for disaster.

If you really want to try it, I suggest just planning what you want to do, giving everyone copies, and telling them that they can tag along if they want.

This is absolutely the sanest thing to do.

Think about it in the simplest of terms...
It would not even be possible to TALK to 30 people simultaneously in the park.
How would restroom breaks be handled? 30 folks (heck, 10 folks) would certainly not be in "sync" for such things.
Everybody agree on food? Unlikely.
What a challenge!

 

[my2disneyboys]

I am planning a trip of 26 people for April! I can say I booked whatever I wanted and asked ahead if they want to stick with us they would do what we were doing... So when my 180 window opened I made reservations for everyone that wanted to do everything we were doing And when my 60 day opened I made all my fast passes and then on my Disney experience as long as you call Disney and make sure you have access to all of them as your family and friends, you can copy your fast pass to your whole party.... Later on we reviewed it and could change the experience for some folks who didn't do coasters etc. but they were able to get something else for the same time. With lots of planning and patience you will have a blast. I'm not sure if you know this but jelly rolls has a hefty cover... You guys may want to go to Disney springs?! Also there is a fun karaoke bar at the swan that may be fun for your big group! Biggest piece of advice is to make sure you and your hubby have some alone time to enjoy Disney!!! Congrats!!

 

[Hibiscus]

I wouldn't want to associate with a "giant mob of obnoxious adults" at Disney or anywhere else and am frankly glad that I'm going to miss this spectacle by a week.

Even if these people weren't "obnoxious," you can't feasibly tour in a group of 30. It's madness.

 

[my2disneyboys]

I wouldn't want to associate with a "giant mob of obnoxious adults" at Disney or anywhere else and am frankly glad that I'm going to miss this spectacle by a week.

Even if these people weren't "obnoxious," you can't feasibly tour in a group of 30. It's madness.

I think she was being funny.... By the sounds of her trip mostly touring at night, hanging at the pool all day and going to adult only bars, you probably wouldn't run into them anyway. And it's her wedding ....

 

[DizDaD7]

Hi everyone!

First some background! I'm 60 days out from my Disney Wedding trip! We'll have about 55 guests at the French Quarter, but about 30-35 want to spend every moment of the week with us Mon-Sun. I am very happy I get to go to my favorite place with all of my favorite people! But... I am getting a little flustered by thinking of attack strategies.

Anyone have advice for a giant mob of obnoxious adults? Here are park and resort ideas for the week:

Mon, May 2nd: AK in the AM, Jellyrolls at the Boardwalk in the PM
Tue, May 3rd: Pool day
Wed, May 4th: MK in the PM after the Wedding (park open until midnight)
Thurs, May 5th: Epcot drink around the world
Fri, May 6th: HS and Star Wars Day

Any suggested dining options for groups this large? I have only ever been to the Mouse with 2-5 people, help!

1st off....PLEASE don't go Singing & dancing and pushing and shoving(like some other nameless TG's) & pretend not to understand us when we get angry as you make your way through the queue lines..LoL * ( ok you can sing and dance )..Just j/k of course..

All honestly..Have a great time before & after your wedding & congrats.
As others have stated. It will be hard to keep everyone in that large group happy....The most that I was able to accomplish was 21 ,but there were a bunch of hiccups. Never going to please everyone, so the advice that @Alesia said with making the copies & asking if they'd like to tag along would be great.... You're mixing in a pool day which to me is crucial.....Eating, or ADR's, that'll be tough but if you go at off times you might be fine.....

Either way don't get too stressed over it, relax & enjoy... DizDad7

 

[Hibiscus]

I think she was being funny.... By the sounds of her trip mostly touring at night, hanging at the pool all day and going to adult only bars, you probably wouldn't run into them anyway. And it's her wedding ....

Why would it make a difference if it's her wedding? Turning 15 (the reason many of the teen girl tour groups make the trip) is also a momentous, once in a lifetime occasion in their culture, but that's not an excuse for obnoxious behavior and it certainly doesn't stop the boards from complaining about them.

 

[Alesia]

Last night I gave you advice on the logistical issues, but as someone who has been married for a long time, let me give you this advice: spend time alone with your husband while you're there - and plenty of it. The rest of the world can wait. Your wedding should be about the two of you. You will spend the rest of your lives trying to juggle the needs of others.

 

[Alesia]

Why would it make a difference if it's her wedding? Turning 15 (the reason many of the teen girl tour groups make the trip) is also a momentous, once in a lifetime occasion in their culture, but that's not an excuse for obnoxious behavior and it certainly doesn't stop the boards from complaining about them.

Stop taking everything so literally.

 

[Hibiscus]

Stop taking everything so literally.

Trying to tour the parks in a group of 30 is obnoxious behavior in and of itself, even without taking OP's comment literally.

 

[Disneymom1126]

I wonder if you could plan to spend half a day with smaller groups of them over the course of the time you are there. I think they probably all want to spend time with you, but likely don't want to spend all of their time together! That way you can give more individualized attention to a few people at a time (take pictures with the smaller group, etc.) and then still get to spend time with everyone. Even at a meal, it's not like people at one end of a table of 35 (or different tables) are all going to get to talk to you and you'll feel like you have to make "the rounds" to get to talk to all of them. There's no way all 30-35 people would get along with eachother and agree to do the same thing all hours of the day for a week without their being grumpy/cranky/argumentative moments and drama...Of course, I don't know you or your family and friends so maybe this is completely wrong! Even smaller groups of 5-6 people probably have a hard time making it through a week without disagreements. Maybe do the small group thing and then plan on everyone having dinner together as a compromise?

 

[Tiggerette]

Wow. I'm so glad that my group of 25-30 coming this summer are planning to wear "obnoxious group t-shirts". (That was their delightful vernacular, too!) That way folks who prefer to assign value judgements to large groups, simply for the sake of their size, can easily spot us to judge us in-person or avoid dreaded un-magical contact! Golly!

Hydra: CONGRATS!!! Also, thanks for putting up this thread. I'm one of the main coordinators for our reunion group comprised of alumni and Star Wars fans. We have many families with children around 5 yrs. For us we're simply planning 1 -2 experiences per day to enjoy as a group. We're having fun discussing various ideas and designs for our group t-shirts. So far we have also scheduled a pool day as a way to hang out together with flexibility to come and go. On days where we share a meal together, many families are choosing that we enjoy quick service meals to allow for families with younger children to visit for a while and then move on. It's helpful to hear others large group experiences. Thanks for your insights!

And lastly as an obnoxious Star Wars geek, a member of a large costuming club, I wondered if you were planning on May 6th @dhs as "Revenge of the Sixth"? Of course there just might be some DHS SW fun for "May the [edit:Fourth!!] be with you…" Just mentioning it in case any of your party are SW fans. (Nice avatar TD, btw!) I can imagine that [05/04!] 05/05 and 05/06 might be fun geek days much like 03/14 is fun for math, engineering and Pi geeks!
Warm regards and again, Congrats!!

 

[tracynicole21]

I totally understand being excited to spend time at the parks with the people you love, but if this trip is serving as a wedding/honeymoon trip I would think those people would understand that you and your new husband would need some alone time together. If you want them around you 24/7 that's awesome, but I'd go crazy if my whole family was going on my honeymoon with me and insisted we remain together at all times. Either way, try not to stress and have fun! And congratulations!

 

[Lirael]

If you want to do group stuff, maybe let everyone go their own way during the day but try to coordinate eating at a specific restaurant? Sure that's still going to be hard given food preferences and money and finding a place with 30+ seats, but it might be easier than trying to go through a day in the park together