strategy for 3 day group trip?

[punkinsmomma]

We will be at WDW Dec. 6-10 with mine and DH's families. It will be me, DH, DS(14 mos), my mom, my dad, my brother (21), MIL, FIL and SIL (16). We are staying offsite in a house but will have 3 full days to do the parks. Do you have any strategies or tips that will help with a group of 9? Do you think it is worth it to do the hoppers even though we will only have 3 days for the parks or should we just plan on 1 park per day?

DH and I went to WDW 2 years ago, but it will be the first trip for everyone else. DH surprised me with this trip for my 30th b-day. I am so excited b/c I have been wanting to go at Christmas time to see all the decorations!

Thanks for any advice you may have! I have found the DIS boards to be very helpful so far.

punkinsmomma

 

[snowwhite84]

I would say skip park hopping and just do one park a day. All that hopping may get stressful for such a large group. But it really depends on how much you want to see. MK is great at Christmas!

 

[Karnak]

Y'all might want to consider splitting up at times, and planning on getting together at meal times. That large of a group is hard to manage and keep together.

Hope you have a ball, in any case.

Enjoy.

 

[Bill From PA]

Regarding 3 days and 4 parks, I'd recommend using a strategy we've favored for a few years. Although we usually have from 7 - 10 parks days, we still will hit either AK, MGM or MK early, getting there for Rope Drop. We'll tour that park until crowds get beyond our tolerance, usually 1 - 1:30 pm, then we hop to Epcot which swallows crowds. We finish the day there, perhaps hopping to Fantasmic or a parade later. This way you'll hit all 4 parks, escaping the crowds at AK, MK and MGM and you'll have 3 afternoons/evenings to enjoy WS and FW in a relaxed manner.

Bill From PA

 

[Gradar1]

Park Hopping will give you a chance to split the parks into more bite-sized pieces--because, as Bill from PA said, MK, MGM, and even AK will become intolerable with the crowds. Splitting up will also help, because there are bound to be rides that some will really want to ride, but others not. When we take a big group, if we split, we usually have reservations at a certain restaurant that we all meet back up at, and discuss what else we want to do that day--plus you don't get sick of your entire family that way!