Tips for Large Groups going to WDW

[Disneenut]

HELLO ALL!!! Well this is my very first post here!!!
I have been reading this site for way to long to just now join...


To the point

My family will be going to WDW somtime in 2008.
There will be about 10 to 15 of us, does anyone have any tips on planing on large groups.

And did i read somewhere there are perks to large groups... or was that something else?

 

[lynninpa]

HELLO ALL!!! Well this is my very first post here!!!
I have been reading this site for way to long to just now join...


To the point

My family will be going to WDW somtime in 2008.
There will be about 10 to 15 of us, does anyone have any tips on planing on large groups.

And did i read somewhere there are perks to large groups... or was that something else?

and to the DISBoards! We went last August-to-September with a "larger" party-there were 9 in all, ages 2 to 50+. I will be more than happy to answer questiuons you may have if I can! Parties of 8 or more people are considered Grand Gatherings. And, yes, there are "perks." For more info on that, you can start on www.disneyworld.com to learn the basics of having a Grand Gathering. Not sure where to start with "tips." Do you have any specific questions?

 

[Pig Pen]

We had 8 people ranging in age from teens to 60s. Instead of everyone staying together 24/7, we planned time for people to go out on their own and then we would all meet up at a specified time/location for "family time." We were in a 2 bedroom DVC villa so we had our own kitchen which simplified things.

A sample schedule:

A.M. - breakfast in room, then split up to spend morning in park of choice.

Lunch - on your own

2:00 pm - meet at resort for recreation (we were at VWL so we used this time to swim/boat/bike, etc.)

5:00 pm - Dinner together at Trails End buffet

Evening - go to park with EMH, or to DTD.

Since we had such a wide age range, with no little ones, we felt this type of scheduling would give better flexibility. Some wanted to sleep in, others go to bed early. It took us a day or two to figure this out. We were at each other's throats before we decided it was okay to split up!

Good luck, have fun, and take lots of pictures!

 

[Dan Murphy]

I don;t know anything about large groups, but did want to welcome you to the DIS, Disneenut.

 

[TikiGoddess]

Hi,
I haven't taken a group that big, but I've read several times here that it's best to meet at meal times and let everyone do their own thing otherwise. You might think about meeting for dinner each evening or lunch each day.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) We do 16-19 people EVERY February.
2) We have it down pretty well pat, by now.
3) Our typical plans
. . . everyone eats breakfast together, so we visit on talk
. . . we all go to the same park
. . . people (kids and adults) can go their own way within the park
. . . we have two meeting times/places during the day for snacking
. . . we set a dinner plan, but it is optional to attend

 

[Shanan]

We were part of a group of 14 this past June. We would meet for breakfast at resort then go to the park. We pretty much stayed together since we all liked the same things. If there was something that one group wanted to do and the other one did not, then we would seperate and then use cell phones to get back together or at least plan to meet. One morning we dressed in matching shirts we had gotten online at Disney Store. We had the best time with that. Loved having our pictures taken with matching shirts.

 

[codygirl5150]

We're having a party of 12 (ages 2-66, 3 families) in March and our main plan is to eat our meals together that we have reservations for (everyone is doing the dining plan) and remind everyone that we DON'T have to stay together! It's just too many people to have to keep up with all the time. HAVE FUN!!

 

[lovetoscrap]

I certainly advise letting everyone go their seperate ways if they want to.

BUT

If all or part of the group want to stay together then I recommend having one person designated as the "leader" and at least a basic plan. Nothing is worse than standing around with 10 people staring at maps saying
"what do you want to ride next?"
"I don't care, what do you want to ride"
"How about Space Mountain (while standing in Adventureland!)"
"I don't know, want to go eat?"
"I want pizza"
" No, we want burgers"


Get the picture? I have done it with 2 families twice, and both times we talked advance and I had lists of what they really wanted to do and what they didn't want. Having a basic plan saved us a lot of time. Of course if you have several dominant personalities in the group that may not work. Fortunately for me no one's personality is more dominant that MINE!

Also, if you will be doing sit down meals or character meals check out the Disney Restaurants board and make sure you get your Advanced Reservations!

 

[ajcolorado]

Are you staying on Disney property? That certainly makes transportation easy.

Do you have a mix of little kids, older kids, and adults? If so, the adults can trade off so that everyone can get a date alone with their spouse. Be open to non-dinner options like a nice lunch etc.

Are you doing any of your own food - we set up a buffet line with bagels, peanut butter, cream cheese, juice, fruit etc. We brought cereal and just bought milk from the food court. It was pretty easy and saved a lot of money over the course of a week.

It is usually not practical to expect to do every ride or attraction together but it can be fun to meet for certain things: IllumiNations, Fantasmic, each of the parks has a 3-D movie, etc. If everyone is tall enough, Soarin' at Epcot is gentle enough but fun enough for a cross-section of ages. A fun "togetherness" shot is if you all can fit in a log at Splash Mountain - they'll allow 3 to a row, if you fit. We had twelve in a log. It was tight but the photo was absolutely worth it.

The water parks seem to lend themselves to visiting. They'll allow you to bring in a picnic (no glass containers though) - so everyone finds their way back to the meeting point to eat. The family slide at Blizzard Beach is fun too.

If you have a families with younger kids, the campfire sing-along w/ Chip & Dale (free) is a lot of fun. We ate at the Trails End restaurant before the sing along and then stayed for the movie (free) that they show outdoors on a large screen afterwards. http://www.buildabettermousetrip.com/activity-campfire.html

Our family did a special dinner at Boma at the Animal Kingdom lodge after our Animal Kingdom day - that went very nicely.

The group thing you might be thinking about is the Magical Gatherings program. Here are a couple of links with information:

www.disneyworld.com/magicalgatherings
http://allearsnet.com/pl/magath.htm

 

[DISshopkeeper]

While I've never done this, I read a good tip a while ago. IF you have people that typically run late (this drives me BONKERS, I do not do LATE!), set up several meeting times/places. EG: Meet us at the bus stop at 7:30. If you miss that, we'll see you at Space Mountain at 9. And if you miss THAT, we'll see you at lunch. IF I ever travelled with a group, I would certainly employ this strategy.

 

[Disneenut]

This is why i love this site... so many helpful people

 

[PrettyInPink]

HELLO ALL!!! Well this is my very first post here!!!
I have been reading this site for way to long to just now join...


To the point

My family will be going to WDW somtime in 2008.
There will be about 10 to 15 of us, does anyone have any tips on planing on large groups.

And did i read somewhere there are perks to large groups... or was that something else?

I've traveled to WDW with Large groups. I think their was ten of us. Anyways, I would plan the park your going to but don't plan exactly where you going to eat, ride, etc. If you do it that way, it might make the park less fun. If you want to split up for lunch or breakfest I think that is a better choice. Make sure, if their are small children to have a meeting place. Little children in a large group might fall behind. I would make sure to go to a store, tell a cast member you are lost (make sure to be specific on how to reconize them). I would also reccomend you keep a little not with him on how to reach someone of the group with a cell phone number

HiH
-PrettyInPink

 

[Disney Doll]

Make sure everyone understands that it is everyone's vacation and you do not all have to stay together all the time.

Exchange cell phone #'s so that evryone can reach everyone.

Designate someone as the "go to" person. This person would pretty much know who was going to be where and when. For example: "Uncle Joe and Mary and the kids are going to MK, Sue & Bill and the kids are staying at the hotel to swim, we will be going to MGM. We are meeting at ESPN at 6PM for dinner, and then we are all going to go to Epcot to see IllumiNations".

Plan a few group activities throughout the vacation, such as character meals, maybe the Hoop-Dee-Do Review, an IllumiNations cruise, the Polynesian Luau...that sort of stuff.

The biggest thing really is that everyone has to understand that no one can be offended if the whole group doesn't want to schlep everywhere together.

 

[Donna]

I certainly advise letting everyone go their seperate ways if they want to.

BUT

If all or part of the group want to stay together then I recommend having one person designated as the "leader" and at least a basic plan. Nothing is worse than standing around with 10 people staring at maps saying
"what do you want to ride next?"
"I don't care, what do you want to ride"
"How about Space Mountain (while standing in Adventureland!)"
"I don't know, want to go eat?"
"I want pizza"
" No, we want burgers"


Get the picture? I have done it with 2 families twice, and both times we talked advance and I had lists of what they really wanted to do and what they didn't want. Having a basic plan saved us a lot of time. Of course if you have several dominant personalities in the group that may not work. Fortunately for me no one's personality is more dominant that MINE!

Also, if you will be doing sit down meals or character meals check out the Disney Restaurants board and make sure you get your Advanced Reservations!

This is exactly right! I planned a family get together - 10 of us - this past august. we had a grand villa at OKW so everyone had plenty of space. Ahead of time, i planned our park days and our ADRs which is a MUST DO for getting that many people seated at one time, call as soon as you can for those. We all had breakfast together and everyone had a mini-copy of the daily itinerary. We had 3 newbies in the group including a 4 year old that loves cinderella (switched to jasmine during the trip, lol). None of us wanted to miss her seeing all this for the first time. We all started out the day together in a certain park. As the heat got hotter and people got tired, we all split our separate ways as long as we all met for dinner that night. In the summer, i recommended daily breaks and we all took them and it made the world of difference in our evenings. some went to the pool, some went to the wave pool and some took naps. Also, it helps to have at least one car and not rely on disney transportation. This was especially helpful to us as we had to make multiple trips to the grocery store to stock up on food for a week for 10 people.
One thing i HIGHLY recommend is all agreeing to the dining plan. My one sister was leary about this because it was alot of food (she's the one with the 4 yr old). she kept saying it was a waste of money. well, by the very first meal, which was chef mickeys, she was THANKING me once she realized we didn't have to separate our checks and figure tips, etc. She said she was so glad i talked her into it. I kept telling her, trust me, this is something we must do. She probably would have spent LESS on food in the long run not doing the dining plan but she was saving on accommodations so she didn't mind. The dining plan is a great deal for all we got. I figured out all of our receipts against what we paid and was came out $1,200 ahead for all 10 people. In any event, it saves alot of headache to have just one bill and hand over one card to your waiter.
With careful planning, touring with a large group can be done and everyone will have a great time. Remember, nothing is carved in stone and you have to be flexible so that everyone enjoys THEIR vacation!

 

[Goofys Famliy]

Disney Doll you said it the best....Its individual vacations with a large numbers..Enjoy and Everyone can have fun together without getting on each others nerves...

We are also planning a large party Disney vacation in 2008..Cant wait



Thanks for the great advice........

 

[Disneenut]

: without getting on each others nerves...

We would never do that!!!

A lil for our trip

 

[DisneyMom5]

Thanks for asking this...I am in the same boat for Nov. 07.
I like the advice for groups that will stick together for the most part. Our group consists of our family which has been twice (dh and I = 3 times) and a big group that are first timers and want to follow us around.

They figure I have already done all the work planning, researching, etc, why do it themselves?
LOL
I am happy to be the official planner. They just have to be prepared to do it my way. LOL

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[bytheblood]

There has been a lot of great information already provided. These are the things I have done when planning for a larger group...

• Get everybody together to discuss the dining plan, room types, parks, etc. (Especially if not everybody is familiar with the World)
• Make Ressies as soon as I can, especially when we are ALL eating together that meal.
• Make our resort ressies as early as possible and request close rooms.
• For the people who are never on time (my MIL), provide them an earlier time for your dining reservation than your scheduled for.
• Let everybody know that we do not have to stick together the entire time and it is okay to split up and do your own thing.

Have fun planning.