Large groups, tips, advice etc.

NJlauren

NJlauren

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 6, 2014
Im planning a trip with my husbands cousin and their family, trip is next August just booked yahooo! We love them and get along great. 8 people total 4 adults 4 kids (7,5,5,13 months at the time of the trip).

I thought 8 people this is great, the kids will have a blast. It will be a great trip! However, now DHs aunt is coming, which means his parents are going to want to come, and then my family is going to want to come and frankly more then 8 people is giving me major anxiety!

What is the largest groups you have traveled with?

Are reservations hard for more then 8 people?

How about same day FP? I have only done same day FP for 3 and had a ton of success getting 5,6,7,8,9 FPs will I have much less success with such a large number of people? Technically I guess I only need 7 the baby won’t need one.

One of the tips I have heard is don't spend all the time together, but I already know the kids are going to want to be together a lot, so it’s going to be hard to take large amounts of time apart.

Anything else you can share or tell me? Any tips, advice?

We go often enough that if we miss some stuff I’m not going to freak out and we will be fine. My DD May feel different.
 
The largest group I have done is 8 and I had no problems with most fast passes. And yes do not spend all of your time together. And remember this is vacation and no matter how annoying some relatives can get murder at WDW is frowned upon. In my group the 8 and 17 year old frequently went back to the pool in the heat of the day. That pool was a life saver. When the girls got on their mother and stepfathers nerves they just went off to the pool. We did dinners together and I encouraged everyone to tell me what fast passes they wanted and to go do their own thing.
 
The most I've done is 7. We DID NOT stay together the whole time, if we had been forced to, we may not have survived the trip. Honestly even with the short trip with my husband, kiddo, and inlaws (in separate rooms) we still needed some us time.

This next trip is going to be my sister's family (2 kids, 2 adults), my family (more than likely 2 kids, 2 adults), my mom, my step dad, and my sister. As the planner in chief, I've decided that we're not staying together as one herd. For starters my sisters family will be at FT Wilderness...still trying to figure out the rough idea for lodging for the rest of us as my husband and I are firmly onsite people. Beyond that each family unit will want to do something by themselves so I'm not forcing everyone to stay together.

We're still 2 years away from it, so I won't be driving everyone bonkers with the planning until next summer...
 
The biggest group I've gone with is 12. Me, DH, and 3 kids, then BIL/SIL and their three, then MIL and her friend. Group was ages 1-75, with the kids going up to teenagers. So, a wide variety of interests/adventurousness, etc. We went before the current FP system, so I can't discuss that, but I can tell you what worked for us. We did three regular hotel rooms--trust me, a little private space was very important to us, plus MIL snored like nobody's business. DVC wouldn't have worked--it's a great option, but not for this group. MIL was very controlling and would not have been happy sharing her space with young children. I mention this because only you know the people involved, and if a nice group setting or a little time away works best.

As far as the parks, after some trial and error, we found that we were best off doing 1 meal a day as a big group--usually dinner. We also planned to be in the same park each day, but not necessarily all together in a lump. We found that some people like rope drop, some prefer to sleep in, some preferred thrill rides, etc. We had the younger kids who were early risers, so we were there at the crack of dawn--BIL had the teens, they showed up later and hit the thrill rides, while we were in Fantasyland. MIL and friend would either do their own thing, or sometimes be with one family or the other. Then we'd meet up for dinner, and everyone would have a chance to catch up and share what they did that day.

To pick which park/which day, and also the group dinner restaurants, BIL and I would get together, each with input from their family. MIL's only request was always Coral Reef, so we'd put that in. Then, he and I would hash out the restaurants. We were able to do this with both sides thinking they got a fair representation--maybe not 100% of your choices, but both sides getting ~80%. Of course, there was always the option of doing any additional restaurants as a smaller family unit at lunch, which was fine. And we did add in a couple nice breakfasts.

Doing all of the above, we were able to get through the trips with everyone staying sane and having a good time. Bottom line, you really have to think about each family's needs and personalities, and keep your expectations reasonable.
 


I'd definitely figure out what everyone's hopes/dreams/expectations are. There's nothing worse than thinking "oh everyone's going to be at disney around the same time, it will be nice to meet up" and then find out "oh here's YOUR itinerary for YOUR vacation" or on the flip side, you think "oh everyone will be at disney, this will be awesome, we'll have so many family photos" and then discover "oh we're only seeing each other for a couple dinners???"
 
sponica said:
I'd definitely figure out what everyone's hopes/dreams/expectations are. There's nothing worse than thinking "oh everyone's going to be at disney around the same time, it will be nice to meet up" and then find out "oh here's YOUR itinerary for YOUR vacation" or on the flip side, you think "oh everyone will be at disney, this will be awesome, we'll have so many family photos" and then discover "oh we're only seeing each other for a couple dinners???"
Click to expand...

100% agree, it was implied over text the other day we would be spending all the time together. Maybe dads get a night out and moms get a night out or each couple gets a night out or whatever. But that the kids would mostly stick together. Makes me a bit nervous.

However as another poster mentioned we have our own hotel rooms, so that is a not even up for debate.
 
sponica said:
I'd definitely figure out what everyone's hopes/dreams/expectations are. There's nothing worse than thinking "oh everyone's going to be at disney around the same time, it will be nice to meet up" and then find out "oh here's YOUR itinerary for YOUR vacation" or on the flip side, you think "oh everyone will be at disney, this will be awesome, we'll have so many family photos" and then discover "oh we're only seeing each other for a couple dinners???"
Click to expand...
Oh I agree with you. You know what can really get on your nerves? Planning a trip for 2 years asking everyone what they want to eat and ride and only have the 8 year old respond to you and then have people ask "why aren't we doing this or that on this trip like last time". Thank g*d my daughter turns 18 in August and anyone I have to pay for has to get past her.
 


Largest group I’ve gone with is 13. I was 10 at the time so I don’t remember the planning, but I do have some advice. The advice on checking with everyone about expectations is very good. You might have some people wanting to do their own thing, and some expecting the family herd.

You mentioned some people were expecting the kids would mostly stay together. If you don’t know the dynamics of the younger group, check in on that too. During the trip I mentioned, all of the adults forgot that one of my cousins and I could only stand each other in small doses until it was a problem.

As for dining, I think I would plan on smaller groups. 8 is doable around a table, but many more and you can’t hold conversations anyway. You can get ADRs for large groups, but I would plan on splitting up personally. You can still do the same restaurant at the same time. Just split the tables.
 
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I did 9. Wife and I, my mother, my sister and her husband and 4 kids between all of us under the age of 4.

Key is to make sure you're clear with everyone about your planning upfront. Make sure people are ok splitting up if there is an interest in doing different things. My trip was not so magical because my sister was not very forthright with her plans and didn't tell us she was going off on her own one day for a half a day leaving us alone for the afternoon with nothing planned.
 
NJlauren said:
Im planning a trip with my husbands cousin and their family, trip is next August just booked yahooo! We love them and get along great. 8 people total 4 adults 4 kids (7,5,5,13 months at the time of the trip).

I thought 8 people this is great, the kids will have a blast. It will be a great trip! However, now DHs aunt is coming, which means his parents are going to want to come, and then my family is going to want to come and frankly more then 8 people is giving me major anxiety!

What is the largest groups you have traveled with? Somewhere around 20 people for a family reunion overseas. 12 on a Disney vacation split between 2 resorts that were w/i walking distance of each other.

Are reservations hard for more then 8 people? Not really but since WDW has a limited amt of adjoining rooms and doesn't guarantee that you'll get them keep your wants in check and perhaps "settle" for rooms on the same floor. You might opt for a DVC multi-bedroom which would make your life easier if you all want to be together night and day.

How about same day FP? I have only done same day FP for 3 and had a ton of success getting 5,6,7,8,9 FPs will I have much less success with such a large number of people? Technically I guess I only need 7 the baby won’t need one. As long as you are all linked to the same MDE account making FPs will be easy and since you can create a party for each FP all, some or none can go on whatever rides you prefer. I would try and book some of the more difficult to acquire FPs in advance to cut down on wait time and disappointment. We were only able to get FoP by rope dropping last trip and I'm not fighting with people to get up in the morning anymore, LOL. Having the same problem this trip and think I'll opt for the pay more FP plan to ensure we get on the more popular rides.

One of the tips I have heard is don't spend all the time together, but I already know the kids are going to want to be together a lot, so it’s going to be hard to take large amounts of time apart. Great tip since that's a lot of people to please at the same time. How about working out a chaperone system so all the children are together and other adults can do what they want? You can take turns.

Anything else you can share or tell me? Any tips, advice? Those in my room ate differently than other trip occupants did so we ate separate breakfasts and came up with an agreed meeting time and place. Other meals were another compromise- do and go where you want for lunch but everyone sit down for dinner at the same place. Oh except for the "fish dinners" which hardly any one else besides us wanted, LOL.

We go often enough that if we miss some stuff I’m not going to freak out and we will be fine. My DD May feel different.
Click to expand...
 
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@NYCgrrl - thanks for the detailed reply!

I should have been more clear on reservations, I meant ADR, meals. Hotels we are staying separate and have booked our own hotel rooms already, but same hotel.

FP I’m more concerned with getting additional FP I figure the initial FP won’t be an issue... already tentatively planning AK and HS (2) to try and get in all those high priority rides late in the trip!
 
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KenHutch said:
Oh I agree with you. You know what can really get on your nerves? Planning a trip for 2 years asking everyone what they want to eat and ride and only have the 8 year old respond to you and then have people ask "why aren't we doing this or that on this trip like last time". Thank g*d my daughter turns 18 in August and anyone I have to pay for has to get past her.
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Yehhhhhhhhup...seriously annoying although we dinna plan the trip that far in advance. Still, I've my BTDT tee shirt, LOL.
 
NJlauren said:
@NYCgrrl - thanks for the denials reply!

I should have been more clear on reservations, I meant ADR, meals. Hotels we are staying separate and have booked our own hotel rooms already, but same hotel.

FP I’m more concerned with getting additional FP I figure the initial FP won’t be an issue... already tentatively planning AK and HS (2) to try and get in all those high priority rides late in the trip!
Click to expand...
LOL! You had me in head-scratching mode over the "denials reply" but I finally got my head in gear; it ain't easy getting old :smooth:.

These are the restaurants I recall had no problems with larger parties: HDDR, FF, Boathouse and Cocina Frontera. We dinna have a large party for FF but sat next to a table of 6-8 well behaved children who were with a several generation group of about 6-8 adults at their own table on Christmas Eve. We all sat in the back room and the service was fine.

These are restaurants that I suspect would have no problems with larger parties: Biergarten, 9 Dragons, and Morimoto Asia...maybe Via Napoli. This is based on the size of the restaurants and ease in putting tables together. I'm sure there are more and others can say.

As for FPs after the initial 3, I'd subscribe to touring plans for it's crowd analysis and such. I'd also try to book at least 2 FPs near each other so the group can meet up easily. A for instance would be Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain since they are both in Frontier Land. Try and find a shady place as a get back together spot and remember when in MK Tom Sawyer Island makes for a great break spot and you can even eat lunch there.

Have fun out there!
 
NJlauren said:
Im planning a trip with my husbands cousin and their family, trip is next August just booked yahooo! We love them and get along great. 8 people total 4 adults 4 kids (7,5,5,13 months at the time of the trip).

I thought 8 people this is great, the kids will have a blast. It will be a great trip! However, now DHs aunt is coming, which means his parents are going to want to come, and then my family is going to want to come and frankly more then 8 people is giving me major anxiety!

What is the largest groups you have traveled with?

Are reservations hard for more then 8 people?

How about same day FP? I have only done same day FP for 3 and had a ton of success getting 5,6,7,8,9 FPs will I have much less success with such a large number of people? Technically I guess I only need 7 the baby won’t need one.

One of the tips I have heard is don't spend all the time together, but I already know the kids are going to want to be together a lot, so it’s going to be hard to take large amounts of time apart.

Anything else you can share or tell me? Any tips, advice?

We go often enough that if we miss some stuff I’m not going to freak out and we will be fine. My DD May feel different.
Click to expand...


Once you know how many are going, then you may be able to get dining assistance from Disney. I am not sure, the largest I planned was 9 people.

I concur, do not plan to be together all day every day. It will turn you all into raging lunatics.

Reservations for large parties differ from those of smaller parties in that parties will sometimes be split up. You will have your ADR for 10, however you may be seated at 2 tables. It happens, and best to be prepared so you do not have Auntie Jane all frantic that day.

I cannot answer about FP. I booked them and we were good to go initially, however we usually do not bother with more, it's just how we roll.

I think I saw you were not all going to stay at the same resort. That would be problematic for my family, but may work for yours. The only thing to consider is the pool time. WDW resorts are strict about "pool hopping" so what you may consider to be just spending time together may be the biggest issue of all: you all cannot spend afternoons together at the pool. My family tends to gather at the pool, so we will stay at the same resort just for ease, and for logistics like swimming and relaxing.
 
NYCgrrl said:
LOL! You had me in head-scratching mode over the "denials reply" but I finally got my head in gear; it ain't easy getting old :smooth:.

These are the restaurants I recall had no problems with larger parties: HDDR, FF, Boathouse and Cocina Frontera. We dinna have a large party for FF but sat next to a table of 6-8 well behaved children who were with a several generation group of about 6-8 adults at their own table on Christmas Eve. We all sat in the back room and the service was fine.

These are restaurants that I suspect would have no problems with larger parties: Biergarten, 9 Dragons, and Morimoto Asia...maybe Via Napoli. This is based on the size of the restaurants and ease in putting tables together. I'm sure there are more and others can say.

As for FPs after the initial 3, I'd subscribe to touring plans for it's crowd analysis and such. I'd also try to book at least 2 FPs near each other so the group can meet up easily. A for instance would be Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain since they are both in Frontier Land. Try and find a shady place as a get back together spot and remember when in MK Tom Sawyer Island makes for a great break spot and you can even eat lunch there.

Have fun out there!
Click to expand...

Haha! See serves me right for relying on my phone during my commute (by train).

Thank you!!! Appreciate all the feedback!
 
Nancyg56 said:
Once you know how many are going, then you may be able to get dining assistance from Disney. I am not sure, the largest I planned was 9 people.

I concur, do not plan to be together all day every day. It will turn you all into raging lunatics.

Reservations for large parties differ from those of smaller parties in that parties will sometimes be split up. You will have your ADR for 10, however you may be seated at 2 tables. It happens, and best to be prepared so you do not have Auntie Jane all frantic that day.

I cannot answer about FP. I booked them and we were good to go initially, however we usually do not bother with more, it's just how we roll.

I think I saw you were not all going to stay at the same resort. That would be problematic for my family, but may work for yours. The only thing to consider is the pool time. WDW resorts are strict about "pool hopping" so what you may consider to be just spending time together may be the biggest issue of all: you all cannot spend afternoons together at the pool. My family tends to gather at the pool, so we will stay at the same resort just for ease, and for logistics like swimming and relaxing.
Click to expand...

Thank you!

We will all be staying at the same resort, but not in the same room (2bed room or what not).
 
NJlauren said:
@NYCgrrl - thanks for the detailed reply!

I should have been more clear on reservations, I meant ADR, meals. Hotels we are staying separate and have booked our own hotel rooms already, but same hotel.

FP I’m more concerned with getting additional FP I figure the initial FP won’t be an issue... already tentatively planning AK and HS (2) to try and get in all those high priority rides late in the trip!
Click to expand...

I've only gone to DL with a max of 6 people. But aside from the 4 of us in our immediate family, the other 2 people with us were of the attitude of "We'll go wherever you tell us." There were a couple of times a day when they went off to do their own thing and then we met up again later. That worked out well so nobody got too grumpy. It can be pretty overstimulating even for adults.

In terms of FP & how to tour the parks together with a group of 12 or more people, I've never done this myself, but they used to talk about this fairly frequently on the Disneyland edition of the DIS Unplugged podcasts. Their general advice was always something like this:
  • Go on 1 or 2 rides together in the morning.
  • Then give everybody the option of doing their own thing for awhile.
  • Meet up for lunch or dinner. Basically do 1 group meal together, whether it's IN the park or elsewhere.
  • Then after the group meal together, everybody goes on 1 ride together.
  • After that, you all have the option of doing your own thing until the next meet up time slot.
  • Expect that there will be a lot of variation in terms of some people will be morning folks. Others will be night owls. Some people will want to sleep in and be there for rope drop. Others won't.
  • So do everybody a favor and just set the expectation now that you'll get to the parks when YOUR family unit wants to and it's no hard feelings.
  • If the group has a set time to meet at a certain location, have an agreement that you'll wait only so long for late-comers and then you're going to go on that attraction that you have planned or have FP for. Otherwise, you're in for a lot of frustration and potential resentment. Since everybody has cell phones these days, just set up a group text message so the late comers know where you're headed next.
  • Expect that the older generation of adults on the trip won't have quite as much energy as the younger people in the group, so give them the option of just sitting in a nice relaxing air conditioned space for awhile. Some place indoors with a bar, for example. LOL.
 
In terms of the FP+ reservations, I think that you should all go in with the expectation that you will NOT be riding every FP+ ride altogether in the big group. Otherwise, with 8-12+ people, I could easily see you going nutso trying to book FP+ 60 days ahead. And then consider the "alternate scenarios." For example, what if you work a miracle and get al 8-12+ people's FP+ reservations together at the same park for the entire length of your stay, but then 1 person changes their minds and wants everyone to switch it to something else?

You'll go crazy with all that.

So instead of turning yourself into the extended family concierge desk person, set up ONE group FP+ together per day. Before the FP+ booking window opens, teach the rest of your family crew (well, at least the ones who will be responsible for their family unit's FPs) how to do FP themselves.

You then have to link everybody's tickets to your MDE account, of course. This will mean that everyone will need to have purchased tickets at least 60 days before the trip. Consider what if some people don't do that until <30 days out or...heaven forbid...when they check into their hotel?

Anyway, you book the 1 group FP per day. Then you go ahead and book YOUR family's other 2 FP per day. Go ahead and TELL everybody else what your plans are, but let THEM be responsible for their own other 2 FP per day for THEIR respective family unit. And if there's somebody who doesn't want to book rides ahead of time, that's fine. Go ahead and let them.

You should expect that there will be at least 1 person in the larger group who pressures everyone to stick together the entire time. Just proceed with the above mentioned plans. After 3-4 days, that person will figure it out and he or she will take a chill pill and finally relax and really get into vacation mode.
 
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