It is going to be tight on time and with such a large party. I see a few challenges.
1. Seating on time: Ohana is notorious for not seating on time. Hopefully, with as early as a time you have, it will not be far off.
2. Eating: Should not be a problem since food is a set menu, unless someone has an allergy that requires special food being made.
3. Characters: They have a set route that they follow and if they came by your table and are even just 2 tables away, you will have to wait for them to get to your table on the next pass through if there route takes them away from your table.
4. Buses: Buses run about every 20 minutes and some share resorts. If the HS bus is pulling away as you arrive at the bus stop, you might have to wait until the next one and that could be 20 minutes. If the bus stops at another resort first before getting to Poly, it could be mostly full and you might have trouble getting people on the same bus.
5. Getting through baggage check at HS, through the park, and to the attraction: With 17 people, you are as fast as your slowest person. Also, I find that a lot of people arrive the first hour the park opens slowing down getting through the bag check and park entrance.
Here are some things that might help:
- At Ohana, either at the beginning of the meal or at least half way through, ask for the check, this way when everyone is done eating/meeting characters, you can leave.
- Near the end of the meal, encourage those that are done eating to go to the restroom so you are not waiting for them when you need to get to the bus, especially if you have met all the characters.
- Have everyone at the bus stop when it pulls up and ready to get go.
- At bag check at HS, only send those with bags to the check and the others through the no bag line. Make sure those with bags know to have all bags, including all pockets in the bag, open. This moves the line quicker.
- Make sure that everyone knows that if you see characters or want pictures at the entrance, you will go back to try and get them. Also, make sure that the person at the front of the group knows where in the park they need to go for the FP. You might want to make sure you have someone at the back to make sure you do not have anybody hanging back.
Sorry, this was longer than I meant it to be. I am long winded this morning.
Estimates of time,
IF everthing goes right:
7:55-9:15 Ohana to eat and see characters
9:15-9:45 Bus wait & ride to HS
9:45-10:15 Everyone off bus, through bag check and walking to the attraction
10:15-10:30 Everyone in FP line for attraction
