Touring plans WITHOUT early entry or Genie+

[eargal]

Traveling with a large group of 5 kids and 6 adults. Genie+ is not in the budget because of the size of the group. We have a couple of mobility issues and will have one older gal in a scooter. We are going the first week of May and have reservations for Magic Kingdom on Sunday May 1st, Epcot on Monday, HS on Tuesday, Ak on Wed, HS on Thurs and Mk again on Friday.

Are there any touring plans available that don't rely on Genie+? Does anyone have the experience and know how to offer suggestions?

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

So couple of questions first, is the group all planning to stay together all the time are split up? TP for large groups may or may not be that different but if you have some ride or die people and then you have some people not doing any rides or just slower park goers, that may effect your day. I think it's good you have HS and MK twice since it will be really hard to hit all the headliners without some fancy footwork. I'd say take advantage of rope drop, early park entry if at a disney resort, if you can or staying until park close to maximize everyone's attractions goals. Ask the group what their goals are and must do's and see what you all think you can accomplish.

Make sure you have your food planned out, for the most part. General idea of your quick service or ADRs for the day. Nothing worse than 11 people trying to figure out where to eat when you're hot, hungry and cranky and one person having to do 10 others mobile orders for lunch.

Disney Tourist Blog has a number of tips and strategies for park plans without G+ that I think could help a larger group. https://www.disneytouristblog.com/magic-kingdom-standby-day-without-genie-plus/

And I think he updates a lot of his articles fairly often as policies at WDW evolve. Some of it is helpful and other times he goes so far down a rabbit hole, that I completely forget what he's even writing about. But for the most part, his posts are helpful. And as it stands right now, imo G+ isn't really necessary or all that helpful at AK and Epcot. Good luck, sounds like a fun trip.

 

[eargal]

So couple of questions first, is the group all planning to stay together all the time are split up? TP for large groups may or may not be that different but if you have some ride or die people and then you have some people not doing any rides or just slower park goers, that may effect your day. I think it's good you have HS and MK twice since it will be really hard to hit all the headliners without some fancy footwork. I'd say take advantage of rope drop, early park entry if at a disney resort, if you can or staying until park close to maximize everyone's attractions goals. Ask the group what their goals are and must do's and see what you all think you can accomplish.

Make sure you have your food planned out, for the most part. General idea of your quick service or ADRs for the day. Nothing worse than 11 people trying to figure out where to eat when you're hot, hungry and cranky and one person having to do 10 others mobile orders for lunch.

Disney Tourist Blog has a number of tips and strategies for park plans without G+ that I think could help a larger group. https://www.disneytouristblog.com/magic-kingdom-standby-day-without-genie-plus/

And I think he updates a lot of his articles fairly often as policies at WDW evolve. Some of it is helpful and other times he goes so far down a rabbit hole, that I completely forget what he's even writing about. But for the most part, his posts are helpful. And as it stands right now, imo G+ isn't really necessary or all that helpful at AK and Epcot. Good luck, sounds like a fun trip.

Thank you for the link! We are staying offsite so no early entry. The group is a couple and their 5 kids ranging in age from 6 to 11 (these are our best friends who adopted a bunch of kids a few years ago) and one grandma in a scooter. We (DH, DD18 and I) are invited along to be helpful with managing the team. DD, DH and I have been to the parks many times in the past and DD and I were there recently so we will not have any MUST do's as it is not about us.

We will likely stay together as a group although it is possible that we will mid-day break and then leave Grandma and the 2 six year old girls who require extra rest at the rental house some evenings. I agree with planning out quick service ahead.

One other element to add to the confusion is that one of the little ones will have DAS however that will only allow for 6 people so it is awkward. DH, DD and I can always sit those out.

 

[disneymouse16]

I have nothing helpful to say but you sound a lot like our group! We are a group of 8 adults and 5 kids, one with a DAS and one with a mobility issue that will mean using a wheelchair if her issues flair up. We are also staying off site and probably not doing Genie+! We are even there at the same time, although I think the park reservations are lined up differently! I have been playing with Touring Plans but I don't know how realistic that is these days. I'm trying to scale back my expectations and realize for us standing in line may have to just be part of the vacation and a chance to enjoy some time together!

 

[WALTSAGOD]

I’d make it clear to everyone in the groups that there’s NO need to stay together for the sake of group unity.

It may be best to split up and then maybe meet back up later in the day, grouping into smaller numbers based on the interests of the smaller groups.

 

[isabellea]

I would make sure each person say what is their must do and have as a goal to do all of them. Anything extra is gravy. For one little girl it might simply be meeting Belle or Elsa. Sometimes we want to optimize so much our time at the parks that we forget that for some it’s the simpler things that matter. And the worst in a big group is when you have 2-3 people drive the vacation due to personality or enthusiasm and the shy/introvert are not heard. That’s why we also make sure we ask everyone what is their #1 priority and make them a group priority even if it means skipping a bigger ride. For my youngest, it was to do the carrousel above anything else. If she hadn’t told us, we might have skipped it because it was such a low priority for the rest of us.

 

[lynzi2004]

At MK, you can still utilize rope drop for Adventureland and Frontierland. BUT, it is still a rush at 9am. My cousin was there last week and she said she felt like she was in a mosh pit trying to get to BTMRR With that many in your group, I would look at the rides in those two lands and see if there are any must-dos and rope drop those, or everyone rope drop those lands but go to your priorities first. (Meaning it may not be worth it to grandma in a scooter to race to BTMRR, but it may be well worth it for mom, dad and 2 older kids to hurry over there for a short wait. Not splitting up all day, just managing expectations for each ride.) OR if they have no idea what to expect, Magic Carpets and Pirates would both have short waits and be something everyone could do.

Fantasyland would have fairly short waits at Carousel, Little, Mermaid, Teacups and Dumbo till 10:30 or so. Even the princess meet and greets there take a bit to really get a line. Using DAS, if the eligible child would ride would be the best option for 7DMT.

Unfortunately, during the bulk of the day 11-4pm your best bet for short waits are going to be Philharmagic, Carousel of Progress, Country Bears, Laugh Floor etc. but for someone who has never seen them, they can be a fun experience. By 5pm or so, you could probably hit up the Speedway and Buzz with a shortish wait. I would save the other big rides for closer to the end of the night for the shortest lines or do them one night during fireworks.

For Epcot, I would tour the countries in the morning when it was cooler and less crowded and then hit up Future World in the evening, waiti times are nearly non existent. Unfortunately, if you want to ride Remy and Frozen without early entry, I think your best bet would be to just suck it up and get in line whenever is most convenient. (Using the DAS here would be advantageous! Half the kids get Remy, the other half get to do Frozen) Walking a huge group front and back to Epcot several times would make for someone getting cranky

At AK, I would enjoy the animals, Rafikki’s planet watch, and Lion king show in the morning and hit rides later in the evening. Realizing that safari closes earlier than the park, but the wait drops off drastically for it in the afternoon. Riding FOP at closing or using the DAS would be of great benefit.

At HS, with both of your days I think you could get everything in but you will have to be a little savvier! You could probably do MMRR and the two secondary rides in TSL if you were motivated at the normal rope drop one morning. You would still have a bit of a wait but maybe not too bad. Then fill the day with shows and a break and do Star Wars land late that evening. Your second day go to ToT and RnRC, saving slinky for the end of the night?

Just some suggestions but I think with the mindset that you don’t have to do everything and that the kids won’t know what they are missing on some things, you will be able to find a happy medium. As a previous poster mentioned, make sure you do one must-do for everyone! And for many people, just being in the parks is magical itself. I would try hard not to put everyone in a 60-120 min line just bc it’s Disney and “you have to try this” ride kind of thing. Have fun!

 

[kathy884]

Traveling with a large group of 5 kids and 6 adults. Genie+ is not in the budget because of the size of the group. We have a couple of mobility issues and will have one older gal in a scooter. We are going the first week of May and have reservations for Magic Kingdom on Sunday May 1st, Epcot on Monday, HS on Tuesday, Ak on Wed, HS on Thurs and Mk again on Friday.

Are there any touring plans available that don't rely on Genie+? Does anyone have the experience and know how to offer suggestions?

At Epcot, I was with my dad who uses a scooter last month and for Living with the Land, due to his having a scooter they had everyone in our party go into a special line that was even faster than the express lane (better than a free LL). That was wonderful as the regular line looked a little clunky to get thru with a scooter, the line was getting pretty long even for a smaller ride like that for spring break, and that ride is a favorite of my dad's. Flower and Garden at Epcot was lovely. Enjoy.

 

[_19disnA]

I’d make it clear to everyone in the groups that there’s NO need to stay together for the sake of group unity.

It may be best to split up and then maybe meet back up later in the day, grouping into smaller numbers based on the interests of the smaller groups.

I agree, this is something the adults in your party should discuss ahead of time. If you don't and then suddenly decide at the front entrance that some have a different idea of where to go next, will cause all sorts of issues. If some of you have already been to Disney in the past, I don't see the need for some 3rd party to plan out where you walk next. You likely already know the general park layout and the particular rides you do/don't like. Everyone has their own idea of what they like to do and doubt that anyone else is going to be able to determine that for you.

I doubt that all 11 people will always want to do the same things. Something as simple as shopping with that large of a group can also be a hassle. I would split up based on what everyone's interests are and then decide to meet at a certain place/time for a meal.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I def. agree with splitting up, you can also look at it like divide and conquer based on people's individual interests. Meal times may be the easier time to get back together as a group but with that large of a group you're likely looking at mostly QS, which is perfectly fine and can give the flexibility of just choosing at that moment when and where to eat but I do agree with getting a list of acceptable places that all can find something at ahead of time and give a few options there in case you go take a peek and the place is crowded or suddenly someone isn't feeling a certain place or you're not near that QS place. You can also plan certain show-based attractions together like Carousel of Progress, Philharmagic, Country Jamboree, etc

One thing that helped with just my husband and I and even though we had already been with each other before was to go through the list of attractions and separate out Must Do with Time Permits and then Not Interested.

I know it may be hard to wrangle everyone with only a few weeks to go but I think if people can get down what their priorities are ahead of time it may save some sanity while there lol. That way you sorta know if someone is dying to go on such and such ride and someone else isn't at all interested in that. Sounds like your nuclear group is more seasoned but it may be helpful to share some stuff with the other members of the touring group.