Tips for a large party, 4 days in the parks?

[kellyr457]

We'll be at Disney next week, checking in on Weds and out on Sun. We'll have me and my husband and our 4 kids (ages 18 mo - 10 yrs old), my mother in law, SIL and BIL and their two ( 8 and 13).
MIL and 13 yr old won't do thrill rides, obviously the baby won't. My 3 yr old will do anything he's tall enough to do (he's 39".) Everyone else is tall enough and willing to ride everything in the parks (other than Mission: SPACE the hardcore version)
My main concern is that we went last September with just my immediate family, but we didn't have to deal with long lines, so no strategy was needed for making our way around the parks.
We do not have park hoppers, that would just be too hectic for our group.

Is the recommendation still to avoid the parks on the Magic Hours days, or is it worth it to go on those days?

We hope to get into town around lunch time on Weds - which park should we hit that day? We want to go to all 4, we just need to figure out which to do on which day.
We're staying at the All Star Sports Resort.

And hi, I'm semi-new. Not really new because I was active here a few years ago, mostly on the budget board (back then it was all about how to do Disney itself for cheap, not how to save money other places!) and I read a few threads here and there last year, but had a pretty good handle on the planning since we were going in the off-peak season.
We know about child swap and fast pass and will use those as much as possible.

I just want to figure out how to have a good time, do as much as we can, and not get stressed out!

Any tips you can share would be great! Thanks!

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

To keep everyone sane and happy, I personally would not plan to stay together all day every day. Maybe plan a few hours in the am and then meet up for dinner or something along those lines. While you want to spend time as a family it is also nice to spend time apart...and easier to get around the parks.


Have a good time.

 

[Eric in TX]

All of my experience tends to be on the AM side with morning EMH:

I think morning EMH can be a good tool if you're able truly get there prior to rope drop. You should be able to get more done in those first few hours than an entire afternoon.

That being said, if you know you won't be able to make it to the park gate before the start of EMH, then yes - I would recommend staying away from that park.

And I also agree with the PP about keeping the group together. When you're dealing with that many people, it's a better idea to split up for parts of the day and plan a few specific times/meals/events that you will all meet up for and do together.

Have fun!

 

[hsembrick]

I agree with the OP'S.

-don't stay together all day, maybe you could group according to who is willing to ride what
-If you are going to stick together MAKE A PLAN, find out what everyone's must do ride is and try and those first and fit in anything else that you can.
-regards to the crowds; we always stay away from EMH but, we always are at rope drop. With the older kiddos it may be harder to get them up on day 3 for morning EMH.
-If you know everyone is going to ride soaring send someone head to get the fastpasses while the rest of you head to test track and meet up before you head in to the ride


Here is my one tip that I always tell my friend; save your feet, try and do all that you can in one area (ie. fantasyland) before heading across the park to do something else (ie. splashmountain).

Another tip: If you are there at rope drop (get there at least 30 mins before park opens if not before) for magic kingdom, head straight to Dumbo, then peter pan, then do the rest of Fantasyland. Trust me on this one, you will be able to do all of fantasyland in less than an hr. We do this everytime!!!!!